


Fallen

by AJHLing



Series: Fallen Series [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Cousins, Drama, F/M, Haruno Family, Light Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 36,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22473376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJHLing/pseuds/AJHLing
Summary: Shinjitsu Miyako has no one left. She is the last of her clan and she is struggling to survive. That is, until one day she is found and placed into the care of the Haruno family. Follow her as she makes friends, develops a crush (or two), and is betrayed by someone she trusts.
Relationships: Uchiha Itachi/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Fallen Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616959
Kudos: 17





	1. Part I: Chapter One

# Part I

“We all want love,

We all want honour,

But no one wants to pay the asking price”

Undone by FFH

##  **Chapter One**

**The** snow drifted down, covering the earth in white as people rushed to get home. A storm was predicted by the meteorologists and no one wanted to get caught in it. Of course, thanks to their rushing and mild panic, no one noticed the small shape huddled underneath a nearby bench. Nor did they notice its skin that was slowly starting to turn blue due to the icy weather. The shape in question was a small, purple-haired girl. She was only four years old, and not even a month ago her parents were assassinated by the elders of the very village that they had been loyal to.

She brought her knees closer to her body, hoping it would help to keep her warm. She wished, and not for the first time, that she had the chance to grab some things before her house was up in flames – before her family was killed. All she had was the clothes on her back, which consisted of a pink shirt, black leggings, a black and pink hooded jumper, and black and pink enclosed ninja sandals that were designed for cold and wet weather use.

“They say the storm will be the worst one in ten years,” a woman said as she walked past with a man and a small child holding onto her hands.

“Then we should probably get inside quickly,” the man replied.

_Storm?_ The small girl thought, shivering at the thought. She could hardly hold on in normal winter weather, a storm would be the death of her, and she knew it.

_I need to find somewhere for shelter,_ she thought as she forced herself to crawl out from underneath the bench, which gave her very little protection from the elements.

She stood up and made her way further into the village, knowing it will be easier to find a proper place to wait out the storm amongst the alleys in the centre of town. As the girl walked, the streets became void of all life. She knew that besides the shinobi in charge of making sure everyone was safe – and other orphans – everyone would be indoors. She knew that she should take the opportunity to steal some decent food, but she was more concerned about the storm. No point in eating when you will freeze to death in the end.

She reached the centre of the village, noting that the shops and restaurants were all closed, though she could still sense the movement of other people in most of them; probably people who wouldn’t be able to beat the storm home. The girl moved towar5ds an alley between a shinobi weapons shop and a ramen store. The buildings on both sides should help protect her from at least some of the elements.

She looked around as she entered the alleyway, grinning when she saw boxes everywhere. She some of them and started to make a home against the wall of the weapons store. It wasn’t much, but it was more than she usually had as garbage was picked up each day in the centre of the village.

The girl crawled into the box fort, laying against the cold brick wall behind her. This was what the girl’s life was like now. Looking at her now, you’d never think she was once a part of a wealthy and well-respected clan. Nor would you think that she going to be the next clan leader. In fact, she was in the middle of training with her parents when the massacre began. Her parents had shoved her into a secret passage – one designed for hiding in the event of an attack – telling her to get away from the compound, just as some shinobi arrived to kill them.

“Everyone’s insides.”

The girl looked out at the opening of her box fort, seeing two ANBU standing in front of her box fort. Like all ANBU, they wore masks in the shapes of animals to cover the identity. She wondered, and not for the first time upon seeing ANBU, if these two ANBU had a role in her clan’s massacre. She shivered at the thought of the masked shinobi who cut her parents down right in front of her, as she had been able to see through a small crack in the door. She remembers some of her parents’ blood falling on her face as they had both fallen, headless, over the crack.

She felt the urge to sneeze and tried to hold it in until the ANBU were gone. But she wasn’t a trained shinobi, and stopping bodily sounds was a skill she had yet to learn, so of course, she failed in her attempt to hold back the sneeze, and the sneeze broke the silence of the area. The ANBU were startled at the sound, having not sensed anyone nearby. They look around until their gaze fell on the pile of unassuming boxes, where they were surprised to see the small girl hiding.

“S-stay b-back!” the girl ordered when she noticed that they were making their way towards her. The two ANBU stared in surprise at the fear in the young girl’s tone, never hearing true fear coming from one of their own. Sure, they were regularly met with weariness, but never fear.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” the ANBU wearing a mask in the shape of a mouse stated, trying to calm the frightened girl. “We’ll take you somewhere safe.”

“No! Leave me alone!” the girl ordered with a fierce glare.

The two ANBU glanced at each other before the mouse masked ANBU lunged forward and took her out of her hiding place. She yelled in anger and fear, struggling to get out of his grip as he and his partner headed towards the Hokage building, having decided that something was amiss with the girl and that they should ask the Hokage what to do with her.

When they arrived, they went to the Hokage, who was still in his office. It turns out a disaster was no excuse to fall behind on his paperwork. Of course, he was surprised when the two ANBU appeared with a small girl trying to escape. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, couldn’t help but find it amusing, seeing his ANBU disgruntled because of a small child.

“Hokage-sama, we found this girl hiding in an alleyway. She seems to be scared of us ANBU, so we thought we’d bring her to you,” the ANBU with a mask in the shape of a frog explain, noting that his partner was too busy trying to calm the girl down.

“Put her down,” Hiruzen ordered, and the mouse masked ANBU was more than happy to place the girl on the ground.

The second her feet touched the ground, she rushed off and hid behind a pot plant in the corner of the office – though it did little to hide her from view. She didn’t trust anyone, and she blamed the Hokage for her family’s death. In fact, if it was easier, she would have left the village months ago in search for a teacher to train her up so she could enact her revenge on the village for her family’s massacre.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” Hiruzen stated in surprise at the girl’s reaction to everyone. The ANBU he understood, they were intimidating with their masks, but him?

“Tell that to Mama and Papa,” the girl sneered, glaring at him with vivid blue eyes.

“So, you do have parents?” Hiruzen questioned, and the girl glared at him harder, hatred in her eyes.

“I _had_ parents,” she spat out, “ _you_ killed them.”

Hiruzen and the two ANBU were surprised at this accusation, all three studying the girl, hoping to figure out what she meant by just looking at her. After a minute of them staring at her, the Third gasped in surprise.

“Are you of the Shinjitsu Clan?” Hiruzen questioned, the ANBU balking in surprise by her question.

The purple-haired girl’s lips formed a straight line as she reluctantly nodded, everyone, staring in shock, having thought everyone in the Shinjitsu Clan had died when the compound had gone up into flames only a few short months ago.

“You said I killed your, family, what do you mean?” Hiruzen questioned, not understanding the situation, but starting to guess what happened that night in late Autumn.

“I-I s-saw people dressed l-like them,” the girl stuttered out, pointing to the two ANBU, “they k-killed Mama and Papa b-before setting my home on f-fire.”

The Thirds eyes narrowed, having suspected previously that the Shinjitsu Clans death wasn’t an acceded like it was made out to be. This small, frightened girl confirmed his suspicions. He knew he’d have to have a chat with the council about this situation.

“I can assure you, I did not know the attack,” Hiruzen stated, and the girl looked at him in surprise. “However, I still feel it is my fault that you are alone like this. Please allow me to help.”

The girl studied the man, sensing that he was telling the truth. Her clan name, which meant truth, was no accident after all. They had a kekkei genkai feared as much as the famous Sharingan. But not for the same reasons. The Shinjitsu no Me, allowed the user to sense lies when being told to them and – in later stages – allow the person to read, enter, and change one’s mind and thoughts. Because of this, no one like someone knowing every little bit about themselves and the clan was feared because of it.

“Y-you’re telling the truth,” she stated simply, stepping out from behind the plant she had been hiding behind.

“You have the Shinjitsu no Me?” Hiruzen questioned and the girl nodded. “The Eye of Truth?” he confirmed, and the girl nodded once again in confirmation. “And what is your name, and who are you, parents?”

“I am Shinjitsu Miyako, daughter of the ex-clan head Shinjitsu Kazuo and his wife Shinjitsu Naomi. Princess and I guess, the current head, of the Shinjitsu Clan,”

**...**

Finding a place for an orphan to live – especially one that is the last survivor and current head of her clan – is no easy task. Sarutobi Hiruzen – more commonly known as the Third Hokage, the Professor, or the God of Shinobi – learnt this quite quickly. Unlike many other orphans in the village, most of whom are the children of criminals and low-level shinobi, Miyako needs proper protection, as such, she couldn’t simply be placed in an orphanage like what he had done with another high-level orphan.

It angered Hiruzen as he kept thinking about what the village elders told him not even thirty minutes ago. It also angered the elderly Hokage knowing that one Shimura Danzo wants to train Miyako to be a member of ANBU Root (an organisation under the control of Danzo instead of the Hokage). He knew if the girl fell into Danzo’s hands, she would be sucked into the darkness that all ANBU Root fall into – and very few ever fall out of.

Hiruzen sat in his chair, hands crossed under his chin, and an almost angry look in his usually gentle brown eyes. Not too far from him, Miyako sat, drawing on some paper Hiruzen had gotten for her, awaiting news on what was to become of her.

_I need to have her under watch by someone I trust completely,_ Hiruzen thought, immediately crossing anyone in Root, family and friends of Danzo and the elders, and even Uchiha Clan – who were currently being monitored under suspicion of being the ones to have released, and controlled, the Kyuubi during the attack two years ago – off his list.

Hiruzen’s gaze fell to the girl who had now switched from a purple pencil to an orange one. _She’ll also need to be with someone who can protect her from inside and outside threats, as well as someone who will be able to give her the love, she needs to grow into a loyal shinobi of Konohagakure._

Hiruzen thought of the Hyūga Clan before quickly dismissing them. There was a discourse in that clan between the Main and Branch families, and the clan rarely ever let outsiders in, _especially_ orphans not their own. Hiruzen doubted that any of the other clans would like to have an outside – especially one that can read minds and know when someone is lying – so close to their secrets, even the non-traditional clans such as the Yamanaka and Nara Clan were distrustful of people when it came of their clan jutsus. Then again, the Yamanaka Clan _were_ distantly related to the Shinjitsu Clan.

“Why not place me with civilians or low-ranking shinobi?” Miyako questioned, making the Hokage startled as he realised the girl was now next to him.

“It wouldn’t be safe, Miyako-hime,” Hiruzen stated, wondering how they knew what he was thinking, Surely, she hadn’t activated the second stage already.

Miyako frowned in confusion. “No one would look for me there.”

Hiruzen’s eyes widened in surprise as he saw the logic in the girls' answer. He knew that Danzo wouldn’t think that Hiruzen would hide the girl among civilians or weak level shinobi. However, he knew that the one flaw in his plan would be lack of guards and finding a family with similar features to her.

His eyes widened as he thought of the perfect family. Two chūnin who already had a daughter. Hiruzen knew that the features of the male made many believe he had relations to the Shinjitsu Clan – though there was none in recent history. Hiruzen knew that that family would be perfect.

“Mouse!” Hiruzen called, and the mouse masked ANBU appeared in a low bow in front of him.

“Yes, Hokage-sama?”

“Fetch Haruno Kizashi, I have a mission for him and his family.”

**...**

Fifteen minutes later, a man with dull pink hair – often thought to be purple – walked in. he was alone and covered with snow from the blizzard outside. If the Hokage hadn’t called for him, he wouldn’t have left his wife and two-year-old daughter alone. Once he entered, he bowed towards the Hokage, only slightly surprised to see a young child standing next to him.

“Ah, Kizashi-san, I have a very important mission for you. So important, in fact, that it’s pretty much an S-Rank mission,” the Hokage explained, making the man stare at him in surprise.

“Sir, I am a chūnin,” Kizashi stated simply, wondering if old age was finally getting to the Hokage, after all, s-rank missions only fell to ANBU and the occasional jōnin.

Hiruzen smiled and gestured to the girl. “I want you and your family to take her in, treating her as if she were your own.”

Kizashi smiled at the girl who smiled back, before turning back to Hiruzen. “But Hokage-sama, how is this an s-rank mission?”  
“You are aware of the destruction the Shinjitsu Clan,” Hiruzen paused to make sure that Kizashi was, in fact, away of this fact before continuing. “It was no accident; the elders of our village ordered the assassination of everyone in the clan.”

“What?” Kizashi gasped in shock, his blue eyes wide as saucers, having never thought his village elders could do something like that.

“The men sent didn’t do their job properly,” Hiruzen explained, gesturing to the girl again. “This is Shinjitsu Miyako, daughter of the now-dead clan leaders Shinjitsu Kazuo and Shinjitsu Naomi. Even now, Miyako-chan is not safe. I’m placing her in your families care because I believe no one would look for her there. In return, I will pay you an allowance to care for her until she is able to care for herself.”

Kizashi glanced at the girl, understanding how important it was to care for her and keep her safe. He feared he wouldn’t be able to do it, but knew that if Hiruzen thought he could, he must at least try.

Kizashi knelt in front of the girl with a wide and kind smile. “Welcome to the family, Shinjitsu... no, _Haruno_ Miyako.”


	2. Part I: Chapter Two

##  **Chapter Two**

**When** Kizashi and Miyako got to his home, a standard two-bedroom house just outside of the centre of the village, Haruno Mebuki was in the kitchen preparing lunch for her daughter, husband, and herself. She concerned at Kizashi being summoned by the Hokage, so used cooking as a way to distract her mind.

“Kizashi, how was your meeting?” Mebuki questioned her husband after hearing the front door open and him entering the house.

“Honey, we have a guest,” Kizashi replied as he slipped his shoes off, Miyako following his motions, setting them up neatly next to the other pairs of shoes in the genkan – which is the main entrance of the house where shoes are removed and kept.

“A guest?” Mebuki questioned in surprise as she walked into the hallway leading the genkan, staring in surprise when she saw Miyako standing next to her husband. “Oh? Who is this?”

Miyako bowed to the blonde-haired woman. “I’m Shinjitsu Miyako, pleased to meet you Haruno-san.”

Mebuki stared in surprise at the girl, having thought – along with everyone else – that all the Shinjitsu Clan had perished in the fire. “Nice to meet you too, Miyako-chan,” Mebuki greeted with a kind smile, looking to her husband for answers.

“Miyako-chan is my, _our_ , mission. Hokage-sama has put us in charge of her safety and wellbeing. As of today, she is our niece Haruno Miyako,” Kizashi explained nervously, worried that his wife would get angry at the sudden development.

Mebuki grinned. “Oh, that’s great! I wanted a playmate for Sakura, now she has a cousin who will be like a sister to her!” Mebuki explained, before holding a hand out to Miyako. “Come with me to meet your cousin. Kizashi, you can finish making lunch.”

Kizashi groaned playfully but nodded and went to the kitchen as Miyako took her new aunt’s hand. Mebuki led Miyako up the stairs and to a room where a little girl around Miyako’s age played with some pink character blocks.

“Sakura-chan, I want you to meet your new roommate and cousin Miyako,” Mebuki explained and the little girl with pink hair grinned, standing up and wobbling over to Miyako.

“Hewo! Pway?” Sakura questioned, and Miyako looked at Mebuki in confirmation.

“Go ahead, just be gentle, she’s two years younger than you,” Mebuki explained and Miyako nodded in understanding before walking into the room and sitting on the floor with Sakura and stacking up the boxes.

Mebuki smiled gently before walking out. She knew that this was going to be good for her daughter and the young heiress.

**...**

The next day, two days after Miyako was found by ANBU, she was with Kizashi in the main part of the village. Mebuki was at home with a sleeping Sakura, and Miyako was board. She knew that the only reason Kizashi has brought her with him was that she was getting restless. Of course, she didn’t mind as she followed him as he did his errands for his wife.

Miyako paused in front of a store, a shining hair clip catching her eye in the window. She couldn’t help but smile at its beauty. She dragged her gaze away from the object, prepared to go back to Kizashi. Unfortunately, Kizashi hadn’t realised the girl had stopped and kept walking, fading into the crowds.

_Great,_ Miyako sighed, _stupid shiny thing._

Miyako decided to walk to a nearby park, knowing that Kizashi will probably look for her there. She had told her aunt and uncle about how things were with her clan – including how when she went out, she told to go to the nearest park if she were to get separated from the others.

She walked into the snow-filled park, noting that only one other person was there. She studied the person. It was a male, about seven, maybe eight, years old. He had fair skin, dark hair and matching dark eyes. She decided to approach the boy, not even considering that he could be dangerous.

“Are you a shinobi?” Miyako questioned the boy, startling him as he hadn’t noticed the girl had walked up to him.

He studied her, taking in her blue eyes and unusual purple hair. He could sense some chakra emitting from her, more than others her age. He suspected she may be from a shinobi family.

“Yes,” the boy replied, watching as the girl tilted her head in fascination at the boy.

“You look young,” she stated matter of factly.

“I graduated early,” the boy replied, and the girl grinned.

“I’m Haruno Miyako, nice to meet you,” the girl finally introduced herself, making the boy frown in confusion, knowing that Haruno was not a clan name. The girls frowned at him when he didn’t respond. “This is the part where you tell me your name, shinobi-san.”

The boy’s lips twitched in amusement at her nickname for him. “I’m Uchiha Itachi.”

Miyako grinned. “Want to play hide and seek with me?”

“Where are your parents?” Itachi questioned, ignoring her question for something more important.

Miyako frowned, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance. “Shiny objects,” she muttered, glaring at nothing in particular.

Itachi was confused for a second before he chuckled. “You got distracted by a shiny object and lost your parents?”

Miyako nodded, her cheeks going red. “Yes, but I don’t have parents. I live with my aunt and uncle.”

“Miyako-chan!” Itachi watched as a man with dull pink hair rushed into the park, looking at Miyako with worry in his eyes.

“Kizashi-ji!” Miyako called and ran up to the man, giving him a hug on the legs.

He picked her up. “I was so worried when I realised you were gone. Mebuki would’ve killed me if something happened to you.” _As would the Hokage_ , he added in his mind as an afterthought, which Miyako caught.

Miyako smiled a cheeky grin. “Sorry Kizashi-ji, I got distracted by a shiny object. I’ll be more careful,” Miyako explained and Kizashi nodded in agreement, his blue gaze falling onto the boy on the bench whom Miyako had been talking to.

“Did you find her?” Kizashi questioned, and Itachi shook his head.

“She found me. I was going to stay with her until someone found her,” Itachi explained and Kizashi smiled gratefully.

“Then thank you for keeping her company. Say goodbye Miyako-chan, we’re going home,” Kizashi stated and Miyako grinned at Itachi, waving at him as Kizashi carried her away.

“Bye Itachi-kun, I hope to see you again soon,” she called out before facing the front and starting to chat with Kizashi. She missed the small smile on Itachi’s lips and the thought that crossed his mind of him wanting to see her again too.

**...**

For Miyako, the days started to blur together. She missed her real family, but she cared deeply for the Haruno’s, and they cared deeply for her too. She had finally gotten used to the surname Haruno. It took a month, and close slip-ups were commonplace for the girl, and even her guardians, but they got there in the end.

“Look Mi!” Sakura called as she ran up to Miyako, showing a cherry blossom flower to her. “It’s me!”

Miyako cracked a smile, having fallen in deep, familial love with her not-cousin. She saw Sakura as the little sibling she always wanted and knew she’d do all she can to keep her safe. “It’s pretty, Sakura,” Miyako stated.

She and Sakura were at a park near their home. It was a warm spring day, and the cherry blossoms have started to bloom, washing away the horrid winter and the storm it had brought with it. Though, said storm brought something good with it, a new home and family for Miyako, so she wasn’t too upset with it.

Sakura climbed onto Miyako’s lap and put the flower in her hair, a wide grin on her lips. “There.”

Miyako giggled and watched as Sakura ran off to play on the slide. Miyako stayed seated in the grass under a cherry blossom tree. She had a hard time truly letting herself have fun, and considering what she went through, it is not surprising that she was far too mature for her age. It was this maturity that allowed Miyako to take Sakura to the park without parental observation.

“Play hide!” Sakura announced with a grin from in front of Miyako, surprising the girl as she hadn’t realised Sakura had returned from the slide.

Miyako was confused at the girl’s exclamation, having trouble understanding what the girl meant. That was until her eyes widened as she realised what the girl said. “You want to play hide and seek?” Miyako questioned and Sakura nodded with a wide grin on her face. “OK, I’ll count to ten and you go hide somewhere in the park, OK?”

Sakura grinned and nodded as Miyako turned around to face the tree behind her and starting to count slowly so Sakura could find a good hiding spot (or as good of a hiding spot a soon to be three-year-old could find).

Once Miyako reached ten, she grinned and turned around to face the park. “Ready or not, here I come!”

Miyako heard a small giggle and walked towards the tunnel in the playground. Miyako, of course, pretended to not know Sakura’s location. After a few minutes of Sakura giggling, and Miyako pretending not to know where she is, Miyako decided it was time to ‘find’ Sakura.

She returned to the tunnel but froze when she sensed something was amiss. Moving in front of the tunnel's entrance, she turned to face the rest of the park, trying to note something out of place. She couldn’t figure it out, but she knew something was wrong.

“You could sense me, so you _are_ Shinjitsu Miyako,” a sly, cold voice stated simply from the shadows, making Miyako tense up, preparing to protect herself and her cousin if she had to.

“Who are you?” Miyako demanded in nervous anticipation.

“Someone who’s going to... liberate you from this god-forsaken village. Someone who will make you the best you can be,” the male voice replied and out of the shadows a man with long black hair seemingly appeared.

“No, I’m not going anywhere,” Miyako spat out, fear filling up her body as she sensed nothing but death and greed from the man in front of her.

“You’re acting as if I’m giving you a choice,” the man stated with a smirk before lunging at the girl.

She didn’t think as she blocked his attack and kicked him back. The man was surprised, having thought she wouldn’t be able to protect herself even a little bit. He chuckled as the girl charged towards him, preparing to punch him in the face, but he easily blocked it, grabbing onto her small fist.

“Well, aren’t you cute?” the man questioned as the girl tried to get out of his grip. “There is more potential in you than I initially thought. I’ll make a weapon out of you yet.”

The man went to grab her, but jumped back, letting the girl go as he came to face with a dozen ANBU. “Orochimaru, by order of the Hokage, you are to leave the girl and the village alone, immediately,” an ANBU ordered and Orochimaru laughed.

“I will leave for now, but I’ll be back,” he promised before vanishing.

**...**

Miyako was unable to breathe as Mebuki squished her, tears streaming down the blonde woman’s face. She had been like that since Miyako was brought home after spending two hours with the Hokage trying to figure out what had happened and how Orochimaru had heard wind of Miyako’s continued existence.

“Mebuki-ba, I’m fine. What about Sakura?” Miyako squealed out as she pushed the woman off her. Miyako was more worried about her cousin than she was herself.

“Sakura is fine. She’s sleeping,” Mebuki replied, her body shaking at the thought of potentially losing both her daughter and adopted niece.

“I’m glad. I was so scared for her,” Miyako replied with a soft smile.

Mebuki studied the girl, realising quickly that she seemed almost unaffected about having almost been kidnapped. Then again, she watched her family being massacred right in front of her, perhaps there was more mental damage than they originally thought.

“Are you _sure_ you’re alright?” Mebuki questioned and Miyako tilted her head, a question in her eyes. “I mean, you were almost kidnapped.”

Miyako’s eyes widened in understanding before bursting out in laughter. “It’s not the first time, Mebuki-ba. For as long as I can remember, someone was always trying to kidnap me. It’s why Mama and Papa had started to train me early. It was the daughter of the clan head after all.”

Mebuki was surprised at the girls' statement and went to ask further questions when Kizashi returned from the Hokage’s office, a tired look on his face. Mebuki turned to face her husband. “So, what did Lord Hokage have to say about all this?” Mebuki questioned him.

“As of next week, Miyako will start at the academy,” Kizashi explained and Mebuki’s eyes widened in surprise.

“But... she’s not even five yet,” Mebuki stated, worried for the girl’s safety.

“I will be in about two weeks’ time. March 20th is my birthday,” Miyako explained and Mebuki sighed.

“I guess we should prepare for schooling,” Mebuki stated. “Sakura’s going to miss having you around all the time though.”


	3. Part I: Chapter Three

##  **Chapter Three**

**Miyako** was nervous as she led through the halls of the Ninja Academy by the Hokage himself. Mebuki and Kizashi were unable to come as they both had missions, and Sakura was taken to the nearby kindergarten, where she would remain until Miyako finished her classes for the day, at which the two guardians should be finished with their mission.

Miyako will be the youngest in her class, as her skills – which had been tested the week prior – resulted in her being placed with the second-year ninja students – all of whom were six or seven years of age.

They arrived at a door on the first floor, the room number at the top saying 2A. Hiruzen knocked on the door before entering, Miyako staying close behind him as she followed, observing the room, along with her new classmates, and teacher.

“Lord Hokage, how can I help you?” the female teacher with brown hair questioned with a weary smile.

“Abe-san, I have your new student. I trust my message reached you two days ago,” Hiruzen stated and the brown-haired woman nodded, her gaze falling to the girl hiding behind the Hokage.

“Of course,” the woman replied and Hiruzen nodded before leaving the room. The woman turned to Miyako and gave her a welcoming smile. “Welcome, I’m Abe Haruka. Please stand in front of the class to introduce yourself.

Miyako nodded before turning to face her classmates, all of whom watched her in curiosity. She fidgeted for a second before bowing. “My name is Haruno Miyako, pleased to meet you all. I hope we can get along.”

“Thank you Miyako-chan, please take a seat next to Gina-chan,” Haruka stated and a girl with silver hair waved her hand at Miyako, who took the seat at the end of the table closest to the centre aisle.

“It’s nice to meet you, Haruno-san. I’m Ejiri Gina, if you need any help, I’m happy to help,” the girl stated with a kind smile once Miyako was seated.

Miyako gave a smile in return. “Thank you, Ejiri-san,” Miyako replied and turned to face the teacher who had started to speak.

“I know we covered this previously, but because of our new student, I’m going to explain our class schedule,” Haruka stated and the class sighed, but there was no other sign of complaint. “The first session each day we do arithmetic, second session is reading and writing, third session is science, fourth session is geography and history. We have lunch at twelve, before going outside for weapon use and taijutsu training, back inside we learn the ninja hand signs and basic ninjutsu, and finally, trap setting and genjutsu. No then, I want you to answer the questions on the board. Please call for me if you need any help,” Haruka said, gesturing to the equations on the board that the class had already started before being interrupted by the Hokage and Miyako.

**...**

It only took two days for Miyako to settle into the class. She quickly showed great skill in almost all her classes. However, it quickly became obvious the one should never go to her for help on even the most basic of math problems.

Miyako had also gathered a small group of friends. First was the silver-haired, grey eyes desk mate Ejiri Gina, followed by the brown-haired and brown-eyed boy Fuchigami Takeo, and lastly the black-haired and onyx eyed male Uchiha Hisoka.

They all had just finished lunch on the third day and were practising their kunai throwing skills. Unsurprisingly, most students were lucky to get the kunai to the second-largest circle on the target.

Because of this, many got frustrated very quickly, leading many to stop and watch as Miyako and Takeo competed to see who would get the most kunai in the centre. The rules of their competition were simple: they keep throwing kunai until they both run out, or one of them misses the centre, whichever came first.

Next to the competing duo, Gina was trying to help Hisoka with his throwing. Despite being a member of the prestigious Uchiha Clan, he rarely ever hit the target, always missing the target completely. Lucky for him, his family were at the bottom of the Uchiha Clan food chain and the elder didn’t care if he failed or not. After all, most figured that, like his parents and their parents before him, he won’t awaken the Sharingan, the kekkei genkai of the Uchiha Clan.

“Damn it!” Takeo cursed as he missed the centre of the target by a mere millimetre.

“I guess I win,” Miyako stated with a grin as her friend pouted.

“Yeah... well, I won last time so ha!” Takeo declared with a grin, making both Miyako and Gina roll their eyes at his antics.

“OK everyone, time to come back inside,” Haruka called and her students grumbled as they packed up and returned to their classroom, most enjoying spending time outside this time of year.

Once everyone was seated, Haruka spoke. “Today I want to see if you all remember the hand signs. I’ll be calling them out randomly, and if most of the class get it on the first try, and all the class has gotten it by the second try, we will start with the transformation jutsu tomorrow.”

Cheers filled the room before they settled down and Haruka called each student up one at a time to test their knowledge. The result was sixty per cent of the class got them all right on the first go, and the rest got them right on the second go.

“Well then, a deal is a deal. Tomorrow we’ll start on the transformation jutsu,” Haruka announced with pride at her students. Her class started to cheer, and only calmed down after Haruka held up her hand. “That’s tomorrow, for now, pull out your books and turn to Chapter Ten: Disguising Traps.”

**...**

The next day, Miyako sat amongst her classmates. They had just finished their kunai throwing and were waiting for Haruka to return to the classroom so they could begin their lesson on their first academy jutsu.

“Can you believe it, Miyako? We get to learn a jutsu!” Gina exclaimed in excitement. “We’re finally on our way to truly become shinobi!”

Miyako smiled at her friend’s excitement. “Yeah, it’d be good to see if I haven’t forgotten how to do the jutsu.”

“Wait!” Takeo exclaimed from next to Gina. “Are you saying you can already do this jutsu?”

Miyako nodded with a small smile. “Yep, before I came to live with my aunt and uncle, Mama and Papa taught me how to do some things, that way if anything were to happen to them, I could protect myself.”

“Is that why you’re so good at everything?” Hisoka questioned from next to Takeo.

“Probably. I’m no prodigy after all. It was just hours upon hours of training,” Miyako replied with a nod and a blush on her porcelain face. She looked to the door just as Haruka entered.

“Settle down and we’ll begin,” Haruka stated and everyone in the class fell silent. Haruka smiled before speaking “Now than before we start, I’m going to go over the details of this jutsu. However, I want to know _you_ know first.”

Gina shot her hand up and Haruka gestured to her. “I know that the transformation jutsu is important because it makes our missions easier, especially when we need to disguise ourselves for whatever reason.”

Haruka nodded with a smile and was about to speak but was cut off by Hisoka. “I heard it was an E-Rank jutsu and that all ninja academies teach it.”

“That’s correct, but please hold your hand up before speaking next time,” Haruka stated and he nodded with a sheepish grin on his face. “Now then, does anyone know the signs?”

Miyako held up her hand and Haruka nodded her way. “The hand signs are dog, board, and ram. For the transformation to be successful, you need to imagine every detail of the thing you wish to transform into.”

“Good job, Miyako. Do you want to try the jutsu first?” Haruka questioned and Miyako nodded.

She stood up and walked to the front of the room where she did the hand seals quickly and transformed into a near-perfect replica of Gina. Everyone in the room, including Haruka, stared in surprise4 at how close to perfect it was.  
“Amazing,” Haruka gasped out as Miyako released the jutsu with a smile on her face. “Have you already been taught this jutsu?”

Miyako nodded, a sad look crossing her features. “Yes, Abe-sensei. My Mama and Papa taught me some things before they passed on.”

Haruka nodded in understanding, it wasn’t uncommon for children of shinobi to know a few things before entering the academy and considering Miyako’s placement into a second-year class... well her skills mustn’t be lacking.

“I see, well then,” Haruka clapped her hands together with a wide grin, “I want all of you to try to do what Miyako had just done. Remember to visualise whom you’re turning into. Miyako, you can return to your seat.”

**...**

Miyako was nervous. For the first time in her life, she has been invited for dinner at her friend’s house. Well, a friend who wasn’t a member of her clan anyways.

It has been a little over a month since she started at the academy, and in that time, she became best friends with Uchiha Hisoka. While she was close to both Gina and Takeo, she found herself closest to the Uchiha, so close, in fact, that his parents had invited her over for dinner that night.

“Come on, Mi-chan,” Hisoka stated as he grabbed her small hand and led her through the streets to the Uchiha compound. “My parents can’t wait to meet the girl who has managed to make me decent at throwing weapons.

“Do you talk about me often, Hi-kun?” Miyako questioned with a giggle, making the seven-year-old boy blush.

“Only a little bit,” he admitted with a mumble, making Miyako giggle even more as he led her into the compound, the purple-haired girl attracting attention from the Uchiha’s who looked at her in interest. “My home is just this way.”

He led her through the Uchiha compound and to his house, which was a traditional Japanese style home sitting on the edge near the back of the compound. The duo walked inside and removed their shoes, lining them up neatly on the floor of the genkan.

“I’m home!” Hisoka called out. “And my friend Miyako-chan is here with me.”

At this, a lady with black hair and onyx eyes appeared. She was wearing a light-blue apron, her hair was tied up in a messy bun and flour was on her fair-skinned cheek. She gave the two kids a warm smile.

“Welcome home, Hisoka,” she turned to Miyako. “You must be Miyako-chan, I’m Uchiha Shizuka.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Uchiha-san,” Miyako greeted with a bow. “You are correct in assuming I am Haruno Miyako.”  
Shizuka’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “I was unaware the Haruno’s had another daughter.”

“I’m their niece. My parents passed away last year, and I was sent to live with them,” Miyako explained and Shizuka nodded in understanding.

“Dinner will be ready in an hour’s time. Hisoka, why don’t you show Miyako-chan your room and then go to the park?” Shizuka suggested and Hisoka grinned.

“Follow me, Mi-chan, I’ll show you to my room and then we can go to the nearby park,” Hisoka stated, grabbing Miyako’s hand and pulling her down a hallway off the kitchen and to his room. “Well, this is it.” He said proudly and she looked around the room.

Unlike hers, which she still shared with Sakura, there was no pink in the room and only one single bed. The walls were cream, the floor was dark wood, and on his window, there was a set of dark green blinds. Besides the bed, there a bedside table with a lamp, a desk with a matching chair, a bookcase next to the desk, and a closet.

“It must be great not having to share with anyone,” Miyako stated with a wistful sigh.

“Yep,” Hisoka boasted before grinning. “Now come on, put your bag down and we’ll go to the park,” Hisoka stated and Miyako nodded, placing her amber-coloured bag on the ground next to the desk and next to Hisoka’s green bag, before following the soon-to-be seven-year-old boy out of the room and into the kitchen where Shizuka was still located.

“We’re going to the park!” Hisoka told his mother before he dragged Miyako to the genkan and they slipped their shoes back on, leaving the house and heading down the street to the park located in the Uchiha Compound.

“Why are you in such a rush, Hi-kun?” Miyako questioned with a giggle as the boy practically dragged her down the street and to the opening of the park.

“I just want to spend as much time with you as I can before you have to go home,” Hisoka replied as they walked into the park.

Miyako looked at the park, which was pretty much like all other parks she’s been to. There was a swing set, one swing for toddlers and the other for older children, a slide, fireman’s pole, monkey bars, and trees surrounding the park.

“Are they all your relatives?” Miyako questioned Hisoka as she took in the sight of five other kids all with dark hair and eyes typical of the Uchiha genetics. She wondered briefly if any of them had the Sharingan activated yet.

“Yeah, but don’t worry. They’re all really cool and should let us play with them if you want,” Hisoka replied and Miyako nodded.

“Hey, Hisoka! Can you and your friend join us in playing ninja? We need two more people,” one of the girls questioned, and Hisoka looked at Miyako who nodded with excitement at making new friends.

“Sure, we’ll play. But I’ll warn you, Mi-chan here is almost invincible at this game,” Hisoka warned with a grin and the other Uchiha children laughed before the game began.

**...**

The group of children were still going strong in their game, when Miyako squealed happily and ran out of the park, grabbing the arm of an Uchiha who had been passing the park.

“Itachi-kun! It’s me, Miyako!” Miyako exclaimed in excitement as the elder Uchiha chuckled, having not forgotten the girl he hadn’t seen for almost two months.

“Miyako-chan, what are you doing here?” Itachi questioned.

“Hi-kun invited me over, we’re classmates _and_ best friends,” Miyako replied and Itachi frowned, not knowing who ‘Hi-kun’ was, but assuming he was an Uchiha.

“Ah, Itachi-sama,” Hisoka gasped out, surprised at how casually his best friend was talking to the next head of the clan.

“Sama?” Miyako questioned in confusion.

“Yeah, didn’t you know, Mi-chan? Itachi-sama is the next head of the clan,” Hisoka explained and Itachi nodded in agreement, having figured that Hisoka was ‘Hi-kun’.

“Oh wow! You’re a shinobi _and_ next clan head? You’re amazing!” Miyako squealed out in admiration.

Itachi sighed, knowing that that tone of voice meant one thing, he just gained another fangirl. He hoped, though, the Miyako won’t be like the others. “Will you be coming over often, Miyako-chan?” Itachi questioned before looking at Hisoka. “And please, Hisoka-san, please call me with ‘san’.”

“OK Itachi-san, and yeah, I’m going to convince mother and father to let Mi-chan come over every week... ah, that’s if you want,” Hisoka replied for both of them turning to face Miyako with red cheeks to get confirmation of his statement.

“Of course, I’ll come over every week,” Miyako replied with a grin and a giggle.

“Hisoka! Miyako-chan! Dinner’s ready!” Shizuka called out from the street, staying back as she watched the two children converse with Itachi.

“We need to go. Bye, Itachi-san,” Hisoka stated and grabbed Miyako, dragging her away as she called goodbye over her shoulder, upset that she couldn’t stay with Itachi for a longer period.

Of course, she didn’t know that Itachi was also upset with their conversation being cut short.


	4. Part I: Chapter Four

##  **Chapter Four**

**Miyako** was excited. It’s been just under two years since she started at the academy and, along with everyone else in her class, she was given the chance to try and graduate early. The exams were two days ago, and only Miyako, Takeo, and Hisoka passed the exam. Of course, Miyako and Gina had cried when they heard the news, both complaining about being separated, but made promises to hang out when they can.

Miyako had turned seven on the day of the exam, and Takeo and Hisoka were both going to be ten by the end of the year along with Gina. She and her friends (Takeo and Hisoka) hope they’ll be placed together. Takeo thought it was bound to happen (what with all three being the youngest in the graduating group and already knowing each other and their moves he figured that the placement of them on a team was beyond obvious).

They were in the classroom with the other graduates, most were twelve or thirteen, but there were some who were eleven and one who was fourteen and had to be kept down in previous years. No one paid any mind to others outside of those that they knew, so when Miyako, Takeo, and Hisoka arrived in the designated orientation room they decided to sit together near the front of the room, closest to the doors.

“Do you think we’ll be placed together?” Hisoka questioned his friends making Miyako smile at her best friend.

“I don’t see why not. Like what Takeo said previously, we’re friends and have been in the same class for most of our schooling. We already work well together, they’d be silly not to let us be a team,” Miyako explained.

“I hope we get to be together. I don’t think I can handle being without you, Miyako,” Hisoka stated and Takeo shot a smirk to his friend.

“What? You wouldn’t miss me?” Takeo questioned making Hisoka flush red.

“Ah! Of course, I would miss you! I just mean...” Hisoka babbled on whilst Takeo sat back in his seat, smirking at his flustered friend.

“Come on guys, the teacher is here,” Miyako hissed out, making the two boys fall quiet and bring their attention up to the male teacher who just walked into the room.

“OK then, I’m here to give you your teams. Once I announce them, you will wait here for your jōnin instructor. Now first up is Team 1.” Miyako shifted nervously as she listened intently as the names were called. There were cheers from some and complaints from others as the teams were called, though nothing overly distracting.

“Next, Team 4... Fuchigami Takeo, Uchiha Hisoka, and Haruno Miyako,” the teacher announced, and the three friends gave each other a high five as the teacher continued until all the teams were called out. “Now then, your jōnin instructors should be here soon. Maybe take the time to get into your new teams and meet each other,” the teacher explained before he sat down at the desk and started doing some paperwork.

“Yes!” Miyako stated she brought her friend into a group hug, not noticing the red tinge to Hisoka’s cheek. “I’m so happy we didn’t get separated. Too bad Gina couldn’t be here with us.”

“Even if she passed, we would’ve been separated,” Takeo stated and Miyako sighed.  
“I know, but I feel like we’re leaving her behind. From now on we won’t have time for others outside out team like we used to,” Miyako stated and the two boys nodded in agreement.

The three sat, leaning back on their chairs as they thought about their future. As they sat in silence, jōnin instructors arrived taking their new teams with them. Soon enough, with only three teams left, a man with dark brown, curly hair stepped into the room.

“Team 4?” he called and the three friends shot out of their seats before walking up to their new teacher. He looked down at them with almond-shaped, dark brown eyes. He didn’t seem all that happy with his team. “Come with me, we will find a place to converse.”

The three genin shot glances to each other as their teacher turned on his heels and walked out of the room. The genin followed him as he led them out of the Academy and towards a training field. The man sat on a boulder, playing with a kunai as the genins sat in front of him on the green grass in a semi-circle.

“I am Higa Tsuneo, and from this day on – if I think you’re worth it – I will be your jōnin instructor. Because of this, you three will be sparing with me to show me your skills. If I like them, I won’t send you back to the Academy,” the jōnin explained in a dull voice, his gaze flicking over the three awestruck genin. “Now then, which one of you is the oldest?”

“I am, Tsuneo-sensei,” Takeo stated, holding up his hand. “I am—”

Tsuneo held up his hand, a frown on his face. “I have no interest in your names until you pass my test. Now then, I will test you first,” Tsuneo stated simply before looking at his other maybe-students. “You two are to watch from the sidelines. If I am to test you all individually, the others can’t interfere. Understand?”

“Yes, Tsuneo-sensei,” Miyako replied as she and Hisoka got up, dusting themselves off before stepping to the very edge of the training field, the friends giving Takeo a smile and a thumbs up in encouragement.

“How do you think this is going to go, Miyako?” Hisoka questioned and the girl frowned, her eyebrows furrowing.

“I’m not sure. Make sure to pay attention, I have a feeling you’ll be next up,” Miyako stated and Hisoka nodded in agreement as the two watched Tsuneo and Takeo talk for a minute before the match began.

**...**

It was two hours later that Miyako’s turn finally arrived. As she had suspected, she – being the youngest – was the last to go up against Tsuneo. This gave her an advantage, having seen how her teammates fought the man gave her insight on his fighting styles. She stood in front of Tsuneo, a blank look on her face – one that she may or may not have spent hours in front of a mirror perfecting.

“Now, the girl,” Tsuneo stated in a bored tone of voice.

“Don’t underestimate me, Tsuneo-sensei,” Miyako stated and the teacher smirked.

“I read your scores; you got the third-best of the graduating class. Impressive for someone four years younger than everyone else. You got the best scores for kunoichi and outdid your teammates,” Tsuneo stated before he shot towards the girl.

Miyako had expected Tsuneo to move and stepped aside before throwing down a smoke bomb. Before the smoke cleared, she created a clone and jumped into a nearby bush where Tsuneo wouldn’t be able to see her. When the smoke cleared, Tsuneo attacked the clone, only to go straight through it.

“A clone? So, you’re hiding?” Tsuneo called out as he realised, he couldn’t sense Miyako’s chakra. _Is she really a Haruno? Her skills are beyond the other Haruno’s I’ve worked within the past._

Miyako did not respond as she formed a hand-sign from her spot, setting off a circle of paper bombs, right where her clone had been, and where Tsuneo was still standing. Tsuneo barely had a chance to dodge the bombs, having not expected her to use them as her other teammates had stuck to throwing weapons and basic jutsus.

Miyako – whilst the bombs were going off – shot in the air, intercepting Tsuneo as he had jumped to avoid the bombs. She shot out with her kunai, surprising the teacher. Tsuneo blocked the attack with his own kunai and the two jumped apart before they landed.

Miyako didn’t give Tsuneo a chance to plan his next move as she shot forward, pulling out some senbon. She threw them at Tsuneo, who easily dodged them and shot towards her. Miyako barely had time to block Tsuneo’s punch with her arm, and even then, he shot out his leg, knocking her to the ground. Before she could get up, he had her pinned, a kunai to her throat.

“I believe I win,” Tsuneo stated and Miyako nodded in agreement, puffing at the energy she had exerted whilst sparring with her teacher.

He got off her and helped her up before leading her towards her teammates, both of whom were grinning from ear to ear at the girl’s skill. They brought her into a hug before they turned to face Tsuneo, who still had a blank look on his face.

“For fresh out of the Academy genin your skills are quite good. Though I should expect as much considering that you all graduated early,” Tsuneo stated, “one of you graduated earlier than the others.” His gaze flickered over to his female student. “So, what are your names?”

“Wait, does that mean we are staying on as your students?” Takeo questioned and Tsuneo nodded and Takeo grinned. “I’m Fuchigami Takeo.”

Hisoka grinned. “I’m Uchiha Hisoka.”

Miyako giggled at her teammates. “Haruno Miyako, sir.”

“Nice to formally meet you three. Tomorrow, meet here at 8:30 in the morning we’ll do some training. I won’t be doing _any_ missions with you three until we’ve trained for at least a month. Understand?” Tsuneo questioned, expecting the genin to complain but they all grinned.

“Yes, Tsuneo-sensei!”

**...**

“I’m home,” Miyako called out as she removed her shoes before stepping into the house itself.

“So, how did it go?” Kizashi questioned, coming out of the kitchen as his wife was on a mission in the Land of Wind and wouldn’t be back for a week.

“It was fine. Takeo and Hisoka are both on my team,” Miyako stated with a grin. “Our sensei is very serious, his name is Higa Tsuneo, have you heard of him, Kizashi-ji?”

“Hmm. I have heard of him. In fact, I’ve worked with him on a mission once, though I doubt he’d remember,” Kizashi replied. “Anyway, do you mind picking Sakura up from kindergarten?”

“Sure thing, she’ll be excited to see me,” Miyako stated as she put her shoes back on and made her way out of the house and towards Sakura’s kindergarten.

As she walked, she couldn’t help but think back on the day and wondered if Hiruzen had told Tsuneo that Miyako was Shinjitsu yet. Miyako stopped and looked up to a building where she saw the familiar form of Itachi watching the streets below.

“Itachi-kun?” Miyako called and the Uchiha looked down to the girl he had gotten close to over the years.

He smiled before jumping down from the roof. “I was actually looking for you. I heard you graduated, so I got you something.”

“What? Why?” Miyako questioned in surprise as the young Uchiha smiled and pulled out a beautiful necklace.

Miyako gasped in awe as she studied the necklace. It was silver with leaf designs on the circle locket, inside the leaves there was a beautiful moonstone. Miyako took it off Itachi, gently, and flipped open the locket to see a picture of her and Itachi that they took during the Winer Festival last year.

“It also acts as a late birthday present,” Itachi stated and gently took it off Miyako before putting it around her neck.

“it’s beautiful Itachi-kun, thank you,” Miyako whispered as she pulled him into a hug.

“I wish I could stay to chat a bit longer, but I need to go home,” Itachi stated and Miyako nodded.

“I have to get Sakura,” Miyako stated before she gave Itachi a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll come over and visit soon, OK?”

Itachi frowned as he stepped away. “It’s best if you stay away from the compound for a while. There are some problems within the clan, and I don’t want you to get caught up in the mess.”

Miyako sighed but nodded. “I understand. I won’t come over.”

Itachi smiled before leaning down and kissing her on the forehead. “See you around, Miyako.”

With that, Itachi left, and Miyako sighed as she fiddled with the necklace. She shook her head clear before walking the rest of the way to Sakura’s kindergarten. As she expected, Sakura was excited when she was Miyako and the two left for home, Sakura telling Miyako about the day she had.

“And then Ino-san his Shika-Shikamaru-san because he told her she was annoying,” Sakura explained, staring in surprise as she noticed her cousins’ necklace. “When did you get that, Mi-chan?”

“Hmm? Miyako questioned, having tuned Sakura out two blocks back. Miyako followed Sakura’s gaze and then blushed. “Itachi-kun gave it to me for my birthday and graduation gift.”

Sakura sighed in awe. “I wish my boyfriend will be like that.”

Miyako froze and stared at her cousin in surprise. “Itachi-kun and I aren’t dating.”

Sakura frowned. “‘Course you are. Why else would he get you a gift?”

“Because we’re friends,” Miyako stated simply and continued her walking.

Sakura went back to telling Miyako about her day, dropping the subject, as they arrived back home. The two entered and saw Kizashi waiting for them with a warm smile on his face.

“That took longer than I thought it would, Miyako-chan,” Kizashi stated, his gaze falling onto the necklace. “Oh? A gift from a certain Uchiha Itachi I take it?”

Miyako blushed. “So what? We’re just friends.”

“Mi-chan is in denial!” Sakura announced cheerfully, making the older girl glare at her cousin playfully.

“OK you two, let's drop the topic and come have dinner. I made you both my famous sweet and sour pork,” Kizashi stated and the two girls grinned as they ran into the kitchen and took their places at the table, Kizashi following them with a large smile.

**...**

As the Haruno's were having dinner, Tsuneo was walking to visit the Hokage for his report, and assessment of his team. He walked up to the door leading to the Hokage's office, knocking and entering when he was told to.

"Ah, Tsuneo-san, how was your day?" Hiruzen questioned as he leant back on his chair, a pipe in his mouth.

"Well, the genins you put me on to train show signs of being quite exceptional. The Uchiha is the one lacking, I'm surprised with his lack of skills considering his clan," Tsuneo stated simply. "But I see potential in them all and decided to accept them as my students."

Hiruzen smiled before letting out a puff of smoke from his pipe. "I'm glad, but that also means I have to bring you in on a heavily guarded secret. So guarded that only me and the people involved know the truth about it."

Tsuneo raised an eyebrow. "Is it about the girl? She seems too skilled to be from the Haruno family."

Hiruzen chuckled. "I had a feeling you'd notice. But yes, it is about Miyako-chan. You see, I had placed the Haruno's in charge of her upbringing and safety after she arrived at my office during that blizzard a few years back."

"Why would she need to be protected?"

"If word got out of who she truly is, some people, those inside the village included, will stop at nothing to get her."

"What makes her so special?"

"Her real name is Shinjitsu Miyako, Princess and Heir to the Shinjitsu Clan. Also, the only one left. As her teacher, it’s your job to ensure her safety both inside and outside the village, as well as ensure that she becomes the best that she can be. Do you understand?" Hiruzen explained, surprising the man with the information.

Tsuneo smiled. "Well then, I have my work cut out for me, don't I?"


	5. Part I: Chapter Five

##  **Chapter Five**

**The** following month Team 4 spent all their time training. Tsuneo had put an emphasis on taijutsu in the teams’ training sessions, building up his students’ speed, strength, agility, and stamina. Today, a month after becoming genins, the team would finally start doing missions. Though excited, the team also knew what were in for. D-Rank missions. The lowest of the low. Missions that included farming, babysitting, finding lost pets, and shopping for other people to name a few.

“OK everyone, as I know you three have probably guessed, we will be doing D-Rank missions for a while. Most of the other genin graduates this year have started doing the occasional C-Rank, but because I took the time to improve your skills, you’re a bit behind,” Tsuneo stated and the three genins nodding in both acceptance and understanding. “I took the liberty of picking up our mission prior to our meeting. Today we have to do some gardening in the medicinal greenhouses.”

Takeo sighed. “Remind me again why they allow such unnecessary tasks to become missions?”

“Money, experience, that sort of thing,” Miyako stated and Tsuneo nodded in agreement to her assessment.

“Now then, if we get this done early enough, we may be able to get another mission before the day is out, understand?” Tsuneo questioned and the genins nodded before following their sensei to the medicinal greenhouses, where herbs and plants used to make medicines for the local hospitals and doctor clinics were grown.

The three walked in and were greeted by an older lady. “You must be the genin team they sent me. I know this isn’t what you had planned in becoming ninja but thank you for helping with this. Let me get you all set up.” With that said, the lady showed them the location of the gear and tools they would need and which plants they were to work with. She then left them to their own devices as she went to work in another part of the greenhouse.

As they worked, they joked and talked about random stuff, finding that they enjoyed looking after the important plants. It was just after twelve-thirty when they were finished, and they reported to the Hokage who gave them the rest of the day off as there were no other missions available.

Tsuneo led the team back to their training field and stood in front of them with a frown. “I had hoped to do another mission, but alas that fell through. So today I decided we should learn your chakra natures,” Tsuneo stated and held up three pieces of paper. “This is chakra paper, you put your chakra into it and it will tell you what chakra elemental nature you have out of lightning, wind, water, earth, and fire. As you can probably guess, in the Land of Fire, fire is the most common chakra nature type with the wind release being the rarest.”

“Sensei, how will we know what chakra nature is what?” Hisoka questioned as he took a piece of paper from Tsuneo, followed by his two teammates.

“The paper reacts differently depending on the nature type of chakra. For wind it slashes in half, for lightning it crinkles, for fire it burns, for water it gets soaked, and for earth it crumbles. My natural nature type is fire release, though I have also trained in the lightning release as well. Just because your nature type is one type, doesn’t mean you can’t learn another, it’s just easier to learn elemental jutsu based on your chakra type,” Tsuneo explained before gesturing to Hisoka. “Why don’t you go first?”

“OK, Tsuneo-sensei,” the Uchiha stated before focusing his chakra into the piece of paper, watching in amazement as it burst into flames. “I shouldn’t be surprised; my clan is known for having fire chakra type after all.”

“Wait, so genetics play a part in your chakra nature?” Takeo questioned and Tsuneo nodded.

“That’s right, it’s almost guaranteed that if both your parents have lightning chakra type, you would have it too. Now then, why don’t you show us your nature type, Takeo?”

Taking a deep breath as if he were about to go underwater, Takeo focused on the piece of paper, and, though he expected _something_ to happen, he still jumped and dropped the piece of paper when it went up into flames. “Well... I guess I have the fire too,” Takeo stated as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly whilst Miyako giggled and Hisoka laughed.

“OK, now for Miyako-chan,” Tsuneo stated, trying not to show the amused smile that was threatening to come across his face.

Miyako bit her lip nervously as she forced her chakra to her fingertips and into the paper. She half-expected the paper to burst into flames too but was disappointed when it slashed in half. Miyako sighed as she watched some of the paper floats towards the ground. “Wind.”

“Oh! That’s so cool, Miyako! You have a rare chakra nature!” Hisoka exclaimed in excitement.

“Yeah, but finding a teacher is going to be a pain,” Miyako replied with a groan and Tsuneo chuckled.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that for a while. Before I even let you three _think_ about learning elemental jutsus, we must improve your chakra control,” Tsuneo stated and the three watched as he walked up to a tree and pat the trunk. “There are two things I want you three to master before we learn new jutsu, and those two things are walking up a tree vertically and walking on water. Both of these things aren’t easy, but they are the best ways to learn chakra control. They are also two of the most common things you will ever use in battle and on missions.”

“I’ve seen shinobi do those things before,” Takeo stated. “They use their chakra to stick to the object, correct?”

“Yeah! I had seen some of my older clan mates’ practice, sometimes they slip and other times they completely fall,” Hisoka added.

“Correct. If you use too much chakra, you will break the tree and be pushed off, too little and you’ll slip. Walking on water is even harder, think of that as phase two of your chakra control training. For now, I want you three to get to the top of a tree. How about you each give it a go now?”

The three genin ran up to three different trees and then attempted to climb them using only their feet. Tsuneo leant back on his tree, watching in amusement as two of the three genin failed, though he felt pride when one of them made it to the top easily. “Have you done this before?” Tsuneo questioned Takeo, who was walking back down the tree to the ground.

“No, but in the Academy, the teachers said I had great chakra control,” Takeo replied as he reached the ground with a grin. “Does that mean my training is finished?”

“No, we still need to get you practising on water, so you and I will go over to the lake. You two keep practising here,” Tsuneo stated looking at his two other students, both of whom seemed to be struggling with the exercise. “Miyako put less chakra into your feet. Hisoka put a little bit more in. I’ll be over there with Takeo,” Tsuneo stated, gesturing to the lake and his two other students nodded before taking his advice and going back to practice. “Come on, Takeo.”

**...**

Miyako panted as she leant back on the upper-most, sturdiest branch. She had finally made it to the top of the tree, it took two weeks of training in-between missions, but she did it. She looked down and saw Hisoka sleeping on the ground. He had finished that training three days ago but opted to stay with Miyako whenever she decided to train to encourage her to continue.

Miyako smiled as she watched him, her gaze moving from his sleeping form to the setting sun. She knew that from tomorrow she would join Hisoka on walking on water, whilst Takeo was taught by Tsuneo to the Teleportation Jutsu – which he had started to learn a week ago as it took him a week to learn how to properly walk on water.

“You finally made it,” a voice stated and Miyako jumped in surprise, her gaze falling down to the branch under her where Itachi sat with a smile. “It took you longer than I thought it would,” he added.

“We can’t all be prodigies, Itachi-kun,” Miyako teased as she moved onto the lower branch, sitting across from him with her legs dangling over the side of the branch.

“Even Hisoka got it quicker than you,” Itachi stated with a chuckle, and Miyako pouted.

“Oh, come off it. Besides, I’ll master walking on water in only a week!” Miyako explained with a grin, making the Uchiha laugh, and waking Hisoka up.

“What’s going on up there?” Hisoka questioned as he rubbed his eyes, looking up into the tree.

“Miyako thinks she can master walking on water in a week,” Itachi stated, Hisoka waking up properly at the sound of the Uchiha heir.

“Itachi-san, when did you get here?” Hisoka questioned in surprise as he made his way up to the branch underneath the two.

“A few minutes ago, I watched as Miyako finally made it to the top,” Itachi explained and Hisoka’s eyes widened as he looked to his friend in excitement.

“Did you really make it?” Hisoka questioned, not believing Itachi’s words.

Miyako huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Of course, I made it! And I will master walking on water before you, so watch out!” Miyako exclaimed in determination.

“Yeah right. You’re the worst at chakra control out of all of you,” another voice stated, appearing on the same branch as Hisoka.

“Oh, come on, Tsuneo-sensei! Have _some_ faith!” Miyako pouted out, making the brown-haired man smirk.

“You are good at strategies, but you have a long way to go before you have proper control over your chakra. Even Hisoka is doing better than you, and I thought he had the least amount of potential,” Tsuneo stated.

“What?” Hisoka exclaimed. “Please tell me you’re joking!”

“Unfortunately, I’m not. I was disappointed in your test for your lack of skills, for an Uchiha, that is. However, at this rate I think I may have been too quick to judge and had been wrong about your potential at the time,” Tsuneo stated before looking up at his favourite student – though he wouldn’t tell her that in fear of her gaining a big head -, and the Uchiha heir. “Itachi-san, it has been a while. I heard you made jōnin a while back. Congratulations for that.”

“Thank you, Tsuneo-san. Anyway, I best leave you to your students. I’ll see you later Miyako, Hisoka,” Itachi stated before vanishing from view.

“Well, now that’s gone, congratulations for making it to the top Miyako. If you want, I can teach you the principals of walking on water now,” Tsuneo offered, and the girl grinned.

“Of course! Will you stay, Hi-kun?” Miyako questioned.

“No, I can’t. I promised Mum that I’d get her some stuff for dinner. I should get going. Good luck, Mi-chan,” Hisoka stated before walking down the tree and heading back to the main part of the village.

**...**

Miyako glared from her spot on the shore of the lake in her teams’ training ground. It has been two weeks and she has yet to master walking on water. While she can walk on still water and very small waves, any more than that and she falls right in.

One day ago, Hisoka had mastered the skill and was now learning the Teleportation Jutsu, which Takeo had mastered a week ago. Takeo was trying to learn his elemental jutsu – the Fireball Jutsu – with Tsuneo. Meanwhile, Miyako was still stuck with trying to walk on water, and she wasn’t all that happy with it.

“Can I give you a suggestion?” a voice stated from behind her, and Miyako spun around to see Itachi standing there with a small smile on his fair-skinned face.

“Don’t you have a mission?” Miyako questioned, not wanting him there to see her failure.

“I finished it, Hokage-sama has given me the rest of the day off,” Itachi stated as he walked up to the younger girl.

“OK, so what’s your suggestion?” Miyako questioned with a tilt of her head, her wet hair falling over her shoulders, dripping water onto her bathing suit as she had learnt from the first time that it was best to practice walking on water in clothes designed to get wet.

“Don’t think about it too much,” Itachi stated simply, making her look at him in confusion. “You think too much, no matter what it is you’re doing. Be it as simple as throwing a kunai or as complicated as walking on water. You want to be perfect, and you’re more worried about the theory behind the skill than actually _doing_ the skill.”

Miyako frowned. “But I can’t just stop thinking.”

“Yes, you can. Focus on something other than what you are doing. Your family, memories of childhood, who you’re fighting etc.” Itachi stated and Miyako frowned again before letting her mind clear and gathering chakra to her feet.

She needed to find something to think about other than the task at hand. Her mind flashed through memories before stopping at one that she treasured the most. It was the last training session with her parents and an hour before her clan’s massacre. Out of all her memories, she treasured that one the most.

Miyako opened her narrow, blue eyes before stepping onto the water with a confidence that she shouldn’t have. As she walked further to the centre, Itachi used a minor water jutsu to create a large wave, and as the wave reached her she stood on top of the water, not even flinching.

Cheers and claps filled the grounds as the other people in the area had watched the whole thing. Miyako grinned as she realised, she had done it as Itachi created another wave. He created more and more waves and she had no trouble standing on them. She didn’t think, she just let instinct take control, and it was a great feeling she hadn’t felt before. A feeling of almost complete freedom. With confidence in her ability, she ran to Itachi and tackled him into a hug.

“Itachi-kun, thank you!” Miyako squealed as she pulled back and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making the older Uchiha freeze in surprise.

When Miyako had realised what she had done, her cheeks turned red and she stepped back, looking away from the Uchiha, not having meant to kiss him. “Ah, sorry Itachi-kun, I just got a bit excited.”

Itachi gave a small smile. “It’s fine, I don’t mind.”

Miyako looked up at the Uchiha in surprise, her blue eyes meeting his dark gaze. They kept staring at each other, oblivious to the three other males in the area.

Tsuneo leant against a tree as he watched the two, a smirk on his lips. Takeo – on the other hand – was paying no attention to the two but to the younger Uchiha, who was glaring at Itachi with deep anger, maybe even hatred. It was because of Takeo’s watchful eyes on his teammate that he was the first to notice the shift in the young Uchiha’s eyes are they turned scarlet red with the Sharingan.

“Tsuneo-sensei!” Takeo shouted, drawing his sensei’s attention, along with Miyako and Itachi’s. All three gazes fell on Takeo in confusion, before following his gaze, all staring in shock as Hisoka – who had yet to notice the change – stared at them in confusion.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Hisoka questioned, he’s anger towards Itachi forgotten for the moment.

“Hi-kun...” Miyako trailed off before a grin covered her face and she tackled her best friend into a hug. “Hi-kun, you have the Sharingan!”

“Huh!?”


	6. Part I: Chapter Six

## Chapter Six

**“I** miss Hi-kun,” Miyako stated with a sigh as she picked up some rubbish from the river with Takeo and Tsuneo by her side. She frowned as she looked at all the rubbish surrounding her, wondering how so much rubbish could accumulate in one area.

“Yeah, I do too. But it’s to be expected, no one in his side of the family had activated the Sharingan for three generations. It’s a shock to the clan, and he has to learn how to use it,” Takeo stated and Miyako frowned.

It had almost been a month since the day Hisoka had activated his Sharingan, and in that time, his clan had been training him to wield it. The training was so intense that Miyako wasn’t allowed to visit due to how tired Hisoka was every day after the training. Because of Hisoka’s absence, Team 4 had been forced to not compete in the chūnin exams, which had started this week, and Team 4 had yet to go on a C-rank mission. As such, their days were divided between D-rank missions and training, which was going well for both Takeo – who had mastered the Fire Ball Jutsu and was now learning the Dragon Flame Jutsu – and Miyako, who had mastered the Teleportation Jutsu and was learning Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique (which is a genjutsu).

“I talked to Hisoka’s parents, and they said that he should be joining us again next week,” Tsuneo explained and Miyako grinned as she turned to face her teacher.

“Are you serious? Does that mean we can do C-rank missions?” Miyako questioned in excitement, making Tsuneo sigh.

“I think it would be best to spend a week or two doing D-rank missions as a team first, just to make sure our teamwork is in order. It’ll also give me time to test out Hisoka’s skills,” Tsuneo explained and Miyako deflated, but nodded in understanding, before turning back to her current D-rank mission.

**...**

Later that week, Team 4 were in their training ground practising their respective jutsus, when Tsuneo – who had stepped out for a bit – arrived with a woman with black hair and grey eyes by his side. The team, consisting of Miyako and Takeo, stopped in their training and walked up to their teacher and the mysterious woman.

“Everyone, I would like you to meet my girlfriend Adachi Aya,” Tsuneo stated, gesturing towards the woman. “Aya-chan, this is Fuchigami Takeo and Haruno Miyako. Miyako here is the one I was hoping you would train in wind style when you are both free.”

Aya smiled at the two genins. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you both.”

“You have wind release?” Miyako questioned in excitement and the woman nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. Tsuneo-kun here told me about your chakra nature and had asked me to come and teach you some of the jutsus I know when we both have the time,” Aya explained and Miyako grinned.

“Oh, that’s great! Do you think that you can teach me something once I’ve mastered my current jutsu? I don’t want to start learning a new jutsu until then,” Miyako explained and Aya laughed and nodded.

“Of course. I understand your reasoning, too many shinobi lack in power over a jutsu because they try to learn too many too quickly. I’m happy that my new student is serious is happy to take her time,” Aya explained and Miyako grinned with pride at the praise from the kind kunoichi.

“I’m glad you two are getting along,” Tsuneo stated with a grin. “I had actually brought Aya here to meet you especially Miyako because I know you don’t like having a random person train you without meeting them first.”

Miyako blushed. “Um... sensei, did you tell her about my... ah, _predicament?_ ” Miyako questioned her sensei.

“No, I figured you would tell her yourself if you saw fit. You haven’t even told your teammates or even Itachi-san,” Tsuneo explained and Aya’s grey eyes widened in surprise at the name.

“You know Uchiha Itachi?” Aya questioned in excitement, having heard amazing things about the Uchiha prodigy.

“Know him? He and she are practically crushing on each other,” Takeo stated with a smirk as his teammate started to blush. “You see that necklace? He gave it to her as a birthday _and_ a graduation present. A bit much for being just friends, am I right?”

“It no like that! We just friends, and that’s all he’ll ever see me as,” Miyako stated, not even hiding the fact that she was crushing on the older Uchiha big time.

Aya started to laugh. “I don’t know, Miyako-chan. It seems like he might like you more than that,” Aya stated with a kind smile on her pink-painted lips.

“OK you two, leave the poor girl alone,” Tsuneo chuckled. “Anyways, these two need to get back to training. I’ll see you tonight for our date?”

“Of course, goodbye you two, it was nice meeting you,” Aya agreed, giving Tsuneo a kiss on the cheek before leaving the training field.

“Wow, you’re so lucky to have her, Tsuneo-sensei,” Miyako stated in awe, making the man blush.

“OK, come on, show me how far you two have gotten.”

**...**

Miyako bit her lower lip as she sat on the ground in the training ground, waiting for her teammates to arrive. It had been a week since she met her new sensei and girlfriend to her current sensei, Adachi Aya. In that time, Miyako worked hard to perfect Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique so she could begin training in wind style jutsus. Today, her and her team would be doing D-rank missions, as Hisoka should also return from his training with his clan.

Miyako was nervous, as she remembered the events leading up to her best friend gaining his Sharingan, and, if it weren’t for Itachi, she wouldn’t have realised that something akin to jealousy, anger, or even hatred had caused her friends Sharingan awakening.

“Miyako.”

Miyako’s head shot up in surprise as she looked up at the tall too familiar voice of her best friend. She studied her absent teammate and noticed how different he appeared. He seemed stronger, more serious, and almost... colder. Miyako smiled as she stood up, rushing up to the Uchiha and pulling him into a tight bear-hug.

“Hi-kun! I missed you _so_ much, how was training?” she questioned as the boy just st6ood there stiffly.

“It was fine,” he replied in a cool, emotionless voice, making Miyako let go and step back with a frown.

“Hi-kun... is everything alright?” Miyako questioned hesitantly, shivering at the cold look in her best friends’ gaze.

“Fine,” he replied simply.

“If it’s because of what happened when you awakened the Sharingan, I had meant nothing by it,” Miyako stated and Hisoka snorted, showing the first sign of emotion since she arrived. “It _is_ because of that? Hi-kun, come on, you know I see Itachi as a friend and not even my _best_ friend. That spot belongs to you.”

“You want something more with _him_ ,” Hisoka spat out, glaring at nothing in particular.

“So, what if I do? It’s probably just a crush, besides, I’m too young to worry about relationships. I just want my best friend back,” Miyako explained and Hisoka sighed before turning to look at her.

He studied his best friend for a while, he often forgot how young each of them was. Of course, after his intense training with the Uchiha Elders and the Clan Head – among others – he found it hard to think of himself as being only eight and Miyako only being seven. He felt like he was much older, and he knew he needed to push aside the thoughts of being with Miyako. At least for now, as they had their whole life ahead of them. Hisoka gave Miyako a small smile.

“Sorry, Mi-chan. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. Will you forgive me?” Hisoka questioned and the girl grinned, tackling him to the ground in a hug.

“Of course, Hi-kun. We’re best friends after all.”

**...**

The following months were met with team bonding. In between missions (which now included C-rank missions and regularly leaving the village), and training with Tsuneo and her team, Miyako also trained with Aya. It has been just over a year since the team was formed, and each member of the team was formidable in their own right. With skills that cover all the basics (and also all the elements), the team had even been placed on a couple of B-rank missions.

You would think with all this skill under their belts that by the time the first chūnin exams of the year arrived that at least one of them would've been made chūnin. But that wasn't the case, as they all failed the first, written exam due to their lack of information gathering skills and knowledge.

This is what led to Tsuneo sitting awkwardly on the boulder in the training ground, rubbing the back of his head and blushing as he was being glared at by his student not even a day after the first test. "OK, I admit I sort of overlooked that part of your training."  
"You think? We could've beaten _any_ of those genins in battle, hell, we could've _survived_ with no readily available food or water if that was the test. But no, we fail because we can't gather information without being caught! It wouldn't have even been a problem if you had at least taught us stuff outside of jutsus," Miyako snapped, angry at herself for failing as she _really_ wanted to become a chūnin.

"Yeah, I admit my skills for gathering information are very... let's say non-existent. That's why I never taught you anything. I probably should've gotten someone else to teach you that stuff," Tsuneo admitted, still rubbing the back of his head.

"And you only just thought of this, now?" Hisoka questioned in disbelief and Tsuneo shrugged.

Takeo sighed. "OK, I say before we do the chūnin exams again, we get a teacher to teach us some information gathering techniques," Takeo stated, and his teammates nodded in agreement.

"In my defence, there was a fifty-fifty chance that you would need to do something like that in the exams," Tsuneo stated and froze as his students glared at him.

"Tsuneo is a fighter, he's not someone who gathers information, or even does something like assassinations, Aya-sensei is no better," Miyako stated with a hand to her chin.

"I actually take offence to that," Aya, who had been sitting next to her boyfriend the whole times, stated and was promptly ignored by her student, making her huff in annoyance.

"Do _you_ know anyone who could teach us?" Hisoka questioned the woman, and she put a finger to her lips as she thought.

"Hmm, what about Arihiro-kun?" Aya questioned and Tsuneo shook his head frantically.

"Nope, no way. He hits on you too much!" Tsuneo stated and Aya rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Tsuneo, he's your brother, _and_ is part of the jonin's who specialise in information gathering. If anyone could teach these three information gathering skills, it'd be him," Aya explained with a grin.

"Hold up, Tsuneo-sensei has a brother?" Takeo questioned in surprise.

"Yeah. He's my older brother, and a pervert," Tsuneo stated. "I don't talk about him much because of that."

"I don't care if he's a pervert, can he teach us what we need to know?" Miyako questioned and Tsuneo reluctantly nodded. "Great, you can go and get your brother and convince him to train us. We'll be here practising our newest jutsus."

**...**

Later that day, the three genins were resting after spending the morning training, it was then that they saw three figures in the distance. The trio could make out the forms of Aya and Tsuneo, so they suspected that the third form was Tsuneo's brother. They all stood up, studying the brown-haired, hazel-eyed man who was taller than their jōnin instructor. He gave them all a wide grin as he walked up to them and bowed with a flourish.

"I am Higa Arihiro, older brother to Tsuneo here, it's a pleasure to meet you," the man stated, standing up and grabbing Miyako's hand, giving her a kiss on the back of it.

Miyako just looked at him blankly as she pulled her hand back. "I'm only eight."

"Ah, doesn't mean I shouldn't treat you with respect," Arihiro stated and turned to face his brother and his brothers' girlfriend. "So, this is the team you caused to fail due to their lack of skills at information gathering."

"In my defence, there was a fifty-fifty chance that they would need to do anything of the sort," Tsuneo stated for the second time that day.

"That doesn't matter, what matter is our skills are lacking, and we want someone to teach us them. Aya-sensei told us you were the man for the job," Hisoka stated, looking at Arihiro with a frown. "Was she wrong?"

"Oh no, she was right. I'm among the best in the village when it comes to information gathering, both personal and un-personal," Arihiro stated with a smirk.

"By personal, he means seduction," Aya stated simply, making the three genins blush.

"Oh, come on Aya-chan, you'll make them uncomfortable with me," Arihiro whined.

"Like they're not already," Tsuneo muttered, making Arihiro glare at him.

"Isn't seduction usually a kunoichi's thing?" Takeo wondered out loud, making Arihiro smirk.

"Sometimes, women have the information we need... and other times, men swing for the same team, if you get what I mean," Arihiro stated and the genins eyes widened as they understood what Arihiro was implying. "However, I'm not here to teach you three the fine art of seduction, I'm here to teach you how to gather information _without_ getting close and personal with the enemy. As far as I know, there are no chūnin exams that call for getting close and personal to your enemies to get information."

"You wouldn't also be able to teach us some theory things so if we get a paper test again, we don't _have_ to spend the entire time gathering information, could you?" Hisoka questioned.

"Of course, I can. Now then, let's start with the basic principle of information gathering!"


	7. Part I: Chapter Seven

##  **Chapter Seven**

**"Welcome** to the chūnin exams. I am Chatan Aika and this is the first test. As with other exams, up until the last test, everything is done in teams. If one of you fails, you _all_ fail, as it would be in a real mission. Now then, your task is simple. Each team will be given a description of a person they need to follow and gather information on. They need to do so _without_ getting caught, if you do get caught, you fail. You will follow this person around for one whole day, when the day is up, you will return here and report all the information you have gained," the Iwagakure kunoichi explained with a smirk on her red-painted lips.

"When you arrived and signed in, you should have gotten a number from one to thirty for your teams. I will call your teams' number and you are to come up and get the description of the person you are to follow from me. Once everyone has their target, I will give you five minutes of planning before beginning the test. Now then, team one, come up here," she ordered and a group of Kumogakure ninja walked up to her.

As they watched people get called up, Team 4 of Konohagakure sat in their chairs, sizing up their opponents. They hadn't spoken since they arrived in the testing room, but there was unspoken happiness in the group that they had forced Tsuneo to bring his brother Arihiro to teach them information gathering. The last year had been spent studying the art of information gathering, with some time for missions and other training in-between. Takeo, out of the group, was feeling the most fulfilled as he had started training to become a medic-nin and currently knows the basics of medical ninjutsu.

"OK, last but not least, Team Thirty," Aika called out, bringing Team 4 of Konohagakure out of their thoughts. The trio walked up to the jōnin of Iwagakure, confidence radiating off them, making the other genins in the room wary of their presence. "Konoha genin hmm? The only one for this round of exams. You have to find this woman and gather all the information you can about her. Like with all the other targets, she's a chūnin," Aika explained, holding up a photo of a fairly generic-looking woman with olive skin, black hair, and black eyes. "Remember, failure to gather enough information, to keep track of your target, or to remain hidden means instant disqualification, and a one-way ticket back to the Leaf."

"We understand," Miyako replied and the woman nodded before gesturing for the genins, now dubbed Team Thirty, to leave.

The trio headed to a corner to plan their approach on the mission. They had five minutes to get a basic plan going, and it was those five minutes that would mean passing or failing the test. The trio knew they had a disadvantage, as Aika said, they were the only team of Konoha-nin in the chūnin exams, most were from Iwagakure with some from Sunagakure, Amegakure, and Kumogakure. In other words, the trio stood out like a sore thumb amongst the other teams, made har5der by the fact that they were younger than the rest (Miyako being nine whilst her teammates were turning ten later in the year).

"OK, we can assume that the chūnin's are aware they are being used in the exams, meaning they will be more aware than otherwise. However, we can also assume that they don't know who is following them, besides them being genins. Meaning we have an advantage of hiding in plain sight," Miyako stated and her teammates nodded. "First thing first, we need to find our target and learn her basic mannerisms. Then we split up, switching over whose watching our target every couple of hours from afar, and who's going to be in plain sight. Our age also comes as an advantage, they said nothing about us hiding our forehead protectors, nor did they say anything about us pretending to be local academy students. In other words, we can talk to our target, but they can't know that we are genins following them."

Takeo and Hisoka agreed to Miyako's plan, just as Aika declared the start of the exam.

**...**

Twenty-four hours later, Team Thirty arrived at the testing room with the other genins. They noticed right off the bat that only twenty teams were left, cutting the total participants down from ninety to sixty. The odd was getting more and more into Team Thirty's favour.

When they were called up, they gave their report, and Aika's – the first proctor – eyes widened with how efficient the trio was in their skills. As [part of the exams, they had to explain how they prevented themselves from being spotted, and Aika was impressed with the strategy of pretending to be academy students, as she had seen the three talking to their target a couple of times in the last twenty-four hours. From the corner of her eyes, Aika could see the shocked look on the genins targets face as she realised how close her followers were the whole time.

"OK, ten teams have failed, leaving only twenty-teams. I will now hand you over to the proctor of the second exam, Chatan Jitsuko," Aika stated and stepped aside to reveal a woman who looked identical to herself.

"OK everyone, there was a reason why we had you gather information about your individual chūnins'. That is because you will be defending a civilian from them as you travel to a village three days from here, and then back. Your job is to protect your civilian from the chūnin we had you watch over the course of seven days. The rules are simple: you have three days to get to the village, failure to do so will equal in disqualification. You will remain in the village for one night, and then you have three days to get back to this village, failure to do so will also equal in a disqualification. During the attack, you must protect your civilian, as well as protect yourself. If your civilian gets captured, you lose. If one of you becomes incapacitated, you lose.”

The genins in the room shuffled nervously, as there were many ways to lose in the next test, especially compared to the last test. Miyako suspected that half, if not more, of the teams, will fail this test. The tests were designed, after all, for the genins to fail. Jitsuko's gaze studied the genins, giving them time for the information to sink in.

"The test starts at dawn tomorrow at the front gates of the village. You have today and tonight to rest up and prepare. You are all dismissed."

**...**

The next day, the trio made their way to the front gates of the village. They wore nothing more than their ninja clothing and a belt on their waists, inside the belt pockets were scrolls sealed with food, weapons, clothing, and medical gear. They noticed that most of the other genins wore travelling backpacks. The trio looked around until the found a male merchant, elderly in appearance with a hunched back, holding a sign that said Team Thirty. The trio walked up to him and bowed in respect.

"We are a Team Thirty, from Konohagakure," Miyako greeted as she stood up, studying the olive-skinned man with grey hair and brown eyes.

"Bit young to be shinobi," the old man stated gruffly.

"We graduated two years ago, this is our second time taking the chūnin exams," Miyako explained and the man nodded, respecting the trio for graduating at such young ages. "I assume that you know of what is required during the test."

"Of course, I've been helping with the chūnin exams since I was a young lad. In fact, this exact test has been done so many times I lost count," the man explained. "I expect you to 'protect' me from the enemy."

"Of course, even if it is a test, we won't treat it any less than a mission," Hisoka stated and the man nodded as the genin teams and their civilians were brought to attention by Jitsuko.

"OK, don't forget the rules, and we begin... now!"

The genin teams moved off, many of which were carrying their civilian and running. Miyako sighed, shaking her head as her team walked out of the village casually as if going for a stroll. The old man looked at them in amusement, not even surprised that they took the almost lazy route of completing the test.

"Did you calculate how long it would take to walk with me already?" the old man questioned and Miyako giggled.

"Takeo did, he calculated how long it would take in general to get to the village without a civilian, and then estimated how long it would take in each age range, from eighteen to twenty-five, twenty-six to thirty-five, thirty-six to forty-five, forty-six to fifty-five, fifty-six upwards. Assuming that we only get attacked no more than twice in a day, we should arrive at the village at midday on the third day," Hisoka explained.

"Clever then. I am Ehara Fumito. Out of all the teams I've had so far, you three interest me the most," the old man explained.

"I am Fuchigami Takeo," the eldest boy greeted, already being ten years of age.

"I'm Haruno Miyako," the youngest teammate greeted.

"I'm Uchiha Hisoka," the final boy stated, making Fumito look at him in surprise.

"Never met an Uchiha before, you have the Sharingan?" Fumito questioned and Hisoka nodded with a blank face. "Interesting. So, are you the tactical expert in the team, Hisoka-san?"

"That would be Mi-chan," Hisoka stated, gesturing to the young girl who shot them a grin.

"Really? How old are you anyway, Miyako-chan?" Fumito questioned.

"I turned nine only a month ago. Takeo is ten, and Hisoka will be ten by the end of the year," Miyako explained with a grin. "We all graduated at the same time. I was in their class at the academy because of how advanced I was."

"Now that I think about, you never did explain about that," Takeo mused with a smile.

"True, you're not from a clan, so your skills make no sense. And it wasn't your aunt and uncle, after all, Sakura-chan is very weak," Hisoka added and Miyako pouted.

"Oi! Sakura-chan is only six, of course she's not strong. Besides, I want her to strengthen up in her own time," Miyako stated but paused in her step as a stray thought crossed her mind.

_There they are. I can't believe I didn't realise they were foreigners. They're good. I'll send some clones to test their skills to find out what their skills consist of._

"Guys, incoming," Miyako stated simply and shot forward with a kunai as a clone appeared. She stabbed it through the chest, the clone turning to mud as the two boys surrounded the civilian, who stared at the girl in surprise. "Our follower is trying to gauge our skills, keep to taijutsu and throwing weapons, no use of ninjutsu or genjutsu!" Miyako ordered as more clones appeared and the trio started fighting them off, remaining close to Fumito who watched in amazement at the trio's skills, even without using jutsus.

_Damn it, they won't show me their other skills. I'll pull back, for now, maybe attack when they set up camp later._ The voice though as the last of her clones vanished at the hands of Takeo.

Miyako looked at her teammates with a smile. "We should be fine for now. Keep an eye out, just in case."


	8. Part I: Chapter Eight

##  **Chapter Nine**

**Miyako** groaned as Takeo used a healing jutsu on her wound. It had been twenty-four hours since the second part of the exam had started, and their examiner had attacked in-person early that day. Miyako, who had just woken everyone up from resting the night, had been hurt during the attack. The damage was minor – just minor cuts and scrapes from an earth style jutsu – but it had slowed the group down. Despite the fact that the two fights had put a dent in their travels, Team Thirty was still on schedule thanks to Takeo’s mathematical skills.

“Makes you wish you had the first shift, eh Miyako?” Takeo teased as he headed up the last scratch, the girl shooting him an icy-blue glare.

“I thought it’d be best if you had the most fulfilled amount of sleep, being our medic and all,” Miyako stated, and Hisoka and Fumito nodded in agreement to her statement. “And it turns out I was right.”

“Did it occur to you that I might not have been needed if you go more fulfilled sleep?” Takeo questioned as he stood up, helping the girl up.

“Perhaps, but we survived and we’re not behind schedule, we have till the end of tomorrow to get to the village, and we’re just under half-way there. Besides, our examiner has no plans to attack us anytime soon. She plans on using the last fights information to beat us,” Miyako explained, and Fumito looked at her in confusion.

“Miyako-chan, how do you know this?” he questioned.

Hisoka cleared his voice, grabbing the elderly man’s attention. “It’s best not to think about it. The knowledge will eventually come out, but for now, its best kept as a secret from even most of our own village.”

Fumito nodded, not understanding completely, but understanding enough that he knows they won’t tell him. For good reason too. After all, being a Shinjitsu gave Miyako a kekkei genkai, and the second stage of the kekkei genkai allows her to hear the thoughts of others – but only if she’s actively searching for them. She had that skill since she was found by the ANBU that one winters day – that was how she understood what the Hokage was thinking, and part of the reason she knew he was telling the truth (the other was the first stage of the kekkei genkai which gave her a feeling if someone was being truthful or lying to her).

“Come on, we best get moving. I want us to be almost to the village by the time we make camp,” Miyako ordered, and everyone nodded, grabbing any weapons they had used in the fight with their examiner before setting off, the old man looking at Miyako with something akin to recognition in his old, brown eyes.

**...**

No one approached as the four made their way into the village, they had to look around for some check-in before settling in. they soon found it in the form of a temporary booth where Jitsuko – the proctor for the exam – along with her twin sister Aika sat, looking board out of their minds. When they saw the group, they seemed surprised and waved the group over.

“Hmm, you made it I see. Barely a scratch on you three too. Your examiner told me your skills; I’m impressed. Already five teams have failed, six teams have already arrived, well, we can make that seven teams now. Go into the town’s inn, they have rooms for your team and your civilian. Stock up, because tomorrow you best head off. The second part isn’t going to be as easy,” Jitsuko explained as she marked Team Thirty off as making it to the check-point.

The team nodded and walked into the village, easily finding the inn and signing in. despite being in the ‘safe-spot’, the team still wanted to keep an eye on Fumito. It was decided that Hisoka will watch him, and share a room with him, whilst the other two went out to get supplies and shared a room together.

“It would be nice to have proper food tonight,” Takeo stated as Miyako looked through the vegetables in the only grocers in the town.

“Yes. I’m thinking just sweet and spicy curry with rice. What do you think, Takeo?” Miyako questioned as she grabbed a couple of apples and a pineapple from the shelf.

“Hmm, I love your cooking. You could cook horse shit and still make it the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” Takeo stated as he grabbed a small bag of rice. “Do you need any herbs or spices?”

“No, I carry those with me. I do, however, need some minced pork, celery, and Pak Choy. I’m going to grab some shiitake mushrooms, seeing as Hi-kun loves them so much,” Miyako stated and Takeo ran off to get what she listed.

Haruno Mebuki – Miyako's adoptive aunt – had taught her how to cook when the girl graduated from the academy. Mebuki believed that if her niece was old enough to go on missions and hold weapons, she was old enough to cook. At first, Miyako cared little for the idea, but she quickly grew to love cooking. If you asked Miyako what her hobbies were, cooking would be the first thing to come out of her mouth, followed by learning new things and training.

"Found them!" Takeo announced as he put the items into the basket Miyako was holding, just as she found some whole shiitake mushrooms. "Is that everything?"

Miyako nodded and walked up to the cashier, who scanned the items. Miyako paid, surprised at how expensive some of the items were compared to other places, before leaving the store.

"I'm going to go and stock up on my shuriken and kunai, you need anything?" Takeo questioned Miyako as he noticed a weapons store.

"No, I'm good. I'll be in our room, preparing dinner. When you're done, do you mind getting Hi-kun and Fumito-san for dinner?" Miyako questioned and the boy nodded before heading off.

Miyako smiled as she made her way back to the inn and up to her room. She walked in and went about cutting everything up, preparing the curry with a small smile on her face. This dish wasn't actually something Mebuki had taught her, it was in-fact Miyako's grandfather on her mother’s side. She had remembered the dish well enough to explain it to Mebuki so Mebuki could teach her when she was older. It was among Miyako's favourite dishes – even if it did have shiitake mushrooms in it.

**...**

The next day – tummies full, and well-rested – the trio of shinobi and a single civilian signed out of the village just as the sun was peaking over the horizon. The group of four walked leisurely, as many of their other genins test-takers shot passed. The objective of the test wasn't to finish the quickest but to protect the civilian and themselves from danger. Like usual, Takeo was next to Fumito's right side, with Miyako at the back, and Hisoka at the front. There was no talking as everyone, even the ninja, were still a bit drowsy from their good night’s rest. Of course, their tiredness quickly faded as a group of shuriken where aimed towards Fumito.

Hisoka, who had heard the sound, activated his one tomoe Sharingan and deflected the attack as Takeo pushed Fumito to a boulder where Takeo stepped in front of the elderly man, prepared to defend from the front or side as the back was protected. Miyako – who was surprised she hadn't sensed the thoughts of their attacker – grabbed a kunai, standing next to Hisoka as their examiner stepped out from behind a tree, a smirk on her face.

"I figured it out, you – girl – can read minds, that's why you sensed my previous attacks. Though it appears that there is a limit to them," the woman stated, holding a sai in her hand. "Now then, are you three ready to fail?"

Miyako twitched, and Hisoka shot forward, weaving hand signs at a rapid pace. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

The flame shot towards the woman, who leapt over the flame, only to stare in shock as she came face to face with Miyako who had just finished weaving her signs. "Paralysis Jutsu!"

The woman gasped in surprise as she felt her body being restrained with invisible ropes. She started to plummet towards the earth, and Hisoka shot after her, kicking her into a tree, leaving a dent as the woman slid down the trunk. Hisoka and Miyako jumped back next to each other and watched as the woman stumbled to her feet, the jutsu fading away. The woman glared at the duo, blood dripping from her lip. She sneered as she quickly weaved some hand signs.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!" she shouted out as a wall of mud hid her from view. Miyako and Hisoka shot into action, destroying the wall with a well-placed lightning jutsu, only to find the woman was gone.

The duo looked around, even going as far as jumping into a tree in the event that she was underground, but they saw no sign of her. Nor did they sense her. That was until she shot up in front of Takeo. Takeo, who had suspected the move charged towards the woman, chakra around his hand that looked as if he was going to karate chop her, only the attack seemed to do no damage as the woman jumped back after Takeo's hit landed on her chest.

"So, you're the weak link," the woman sneered with a smirk, only to freeze as she started to rapidly cough. "What?"

"Chakra Scalpel, it does damage to the cells itself. If you hurry, you may find a medic before you heart stops beating," Takeo stated with a blank look on his face.

The woman's eyes widened in fear, before glaring at the trio and shooting off back to the town, dying for this exam was _not_ on her agenda.

**...**

"Congratulations onthe eight teams that had passed the second exam. We still have twenty-four participants, and the last round will be held tomorrow. Gaku will take over," Jitsuko announced, gesturing to a heavily scarred, but small man who had a smirk on his face as he stepped up so that all the examinees could see him in the classroom they were seated in.

"Tomorrow will be the final part of the exam. From this point on, it's every man for themselves. The exam will be watched by nobility, and your kage and this exam is a battle royal. All twenty-four of you will be placed into an arena, your job is to be the last man standing. You can, of course, do the test in your teams, but remember, that only _one_ will win. There are no rules, you can kill and seriously injure one another if you need to," Gaku explained. "How you choose to do the exam is your choice, but remember, you just need to last long enough to show your skills to your kage. Now then, before we continue, does anyone want to pull out?"

Miyako looked around the room, surprised when seven genins held the hands up. They were all badly injured, a couple even having broken bones, and they knew they wouldn't stand a chance. That brought down her competition to sixteen, and she liked those odds better. As the proctor took the names of the people who pulled out, Miyako noticed movement from her left and saw Takeo walking up to the man, pulling out. He walked back to his teammates, who looked at him in shock.

"Why?" Miyako questioned simply.

"I don't want to become a chūnin until I become a full medic. I only took the exams so you two could. I'll be watching in the crowd, kick their arses," Takeo encouraged and Hisoka and Miyako grinned, high-fiving each other as the same thought crossed their minds: _only fifteen people, not including myself, left._

**...**

Miyako and Hisoka stood next to each other in the line of genin in the middle of a large arena that had been built just for this exam. The seats were full of spectators, and the noise was deafening. In a box sat the Third Tsuchikage, along with the Third Hokage, and the Fourth Kazekage. The Raikage and Mizukage were unable to attend, so their right-hand-men took their place. Surrounding the kage booth were nobles from all the lands, including a couple of feudal lords. The rest of the seats in the oval-shaped arena were full of civilians and shinobi who have all came to watch the fight that was about to happen. The proctor of the exam stood on a ledge over the entrance to the ground of the arena, a microphone in his hand.

"Welcome to the third part of the chūnin exams! In front of you are sixteen genins who hope to impress you with their skills to become chūnin of their respective villages. This is a battle royal, every man for himself. The genins goal, last long enough to show their skills _and_ to impress you all. Each genin will start in a designated zone," Gaku explained, and on cue, the genin moved to their spots, teammates were located on opposite sides of the arena. "When the gong goes, the battle royal begins!"

The crowd, which had fallen silent at Gaku's announcements cheered and the proctor gestured to the women behind him, who banged the gong and the genins started the battle. In a flurry, genins started summoning jutsus, attacking one another, and setting up defences. Miyako hid in a tree, watching as two genins – one for the Land of Grass and the other from Amegakure – fought it out right in front of her. Hisoka was also hiding, his Sharingan activated, as he watched the movement of three Kumo genins against a Suna genin. Cheers and shouts could be heard from the crowd, and if you paid close enough attention, you can also hear the sounds of bets being placed.

It was absolute chaos in the arena, the spectators had trouble telling what was going on, and Miyako wondered if this was a good idea on the Tsuchikage's behalf. She thought that, perhaps, it would've been better for individual spars instead of a full-blown battle royal. Miyako watched as one by one the genins started to lose to their opponents, a smirk covering her lips as she realised her decision to hide and wait was the best thing she could've done.

Hisoka – who was on the other side of the arena – was having similar thoughts, and he knew that soon only Miyako and himself would be left. This actually worried the Uchiha, as he wasn't sure he could even stand a chance at beating the young girl. Despite being younger than him – and weaker than him in terms of brute strength – Miyako was a formidable opponent. Her kekkei genkai was part of the reason for this. She has leant to use it in battle, knowing what a person will do before they themselves truly know. It was no wonder that even the feared Uchiha Clan were weary of the Shinjitsu Clan.

**...**

Almost an hour later, Miyako and Hisoka stood facing each other in the now destroyed arena. They were the last two genins, and the arena was now filled to the brim with anticipation as they had witnessed Hisoka taking out two other genins, and Miyako had just revealed herself for the first time. The two made no move, making the crowd restless.

"Are you scared, Hi-kun?" Miyako mocked making the Uchiha smirk as he threw eight kunai towards the girl.

She dodged and the fight properly began. Hisoka making plans and changing them so quickly that Miyako had trouble keeping track of his thoughts. In the end, she pulled out of his head and used her instincts to battle her teammate. Justus went off, weapons went everywhere, and more of the arena got destroyed as the two genins moved so fast that the civilians and the chūnins in the crowds had trouble seeing what was happening. The kage present were nervous at the skill the two Konohagakure genin showed, as were the kage stand-ins who took note of the two genins. Soon, after a wind jutsu by Miyako covered the field with dust, the dust cleared showing Hisoka – Sharingan blazing – with a kunai to Miyako's throat as she laid under him, breathing hard.

"The winner is–" Gaku gasped as, from behind Hisoka, Miyako appeared seemingly out of nowhere, kicking the Uchiha down before using the paralysis jutsu on him and holding her kunai to his throat.

Hisoka's eyes were wide, having thought he had won. His gaze fell to the Miyako on the ground, only for it vanish – showing that it was nothing more than a simple clone.

Gaku cleared his throat. "The winner is Haruno Miyako of Konohagakure!"

Cheers filled the arena as Miyako released her jutsu and helped Hisoka up. He grinned and pulled her into a hug, whispering into her ear, "Good job, Mi-chan."

"For those of you who didn't win, keep in mind that your kage may still make you chūnins, you will not find out until after you return to your village. This is the end of the Chūnin Exams!" Gaku announced, riling up the crowd more. 


	9. Part I: Chapter Nine

##  **Chapter Nine**

**Miyako** looked down at the chūnin vest she held in her hand with pride as she made her way out of the Hokage building. She was grinning from ear to ear, Hisoka was next to her, also grinning. Both had been made chūnins. It took a week before they found out the Hokage’s decision and the results of the Chūnin Exams, but they didn’t care about the wait as they were now so happy that they decided to go to dinner together at a local soba restaurant. They had invited their senseis, families, and Takeo – but all had declined the two, saying that the two should go out together to celebrate.

They made their way into the restaurant and got a seat at a booth before placing their food and drink orders. Whilst they waited, they began to converse, talking about the chūnin exams and what they thought they could’ve done better, as well as what they thought they may have overdone a little bit.

“So, what now for your training?” Miyako questioned as the food was placed in front of them. “ _Itadakimasu!”_

“ _Itadakimasu_!” Hisoka announced before answering Miyako’s question. “More training on my Sharingan, I want to have all three tomoes and mastered before I become a jōnin. Other than that? I’m not too sure. what about you?”

“Hmm?” Miyako shrugged as she slurped up some of the buckwheat noodles. “Find out as much as I can about the Shinjitsu no kokei, improve on its skills.”

“Hn, how far along are you in that?”

“I have Stage Two activated; I want to have Stage Three activated before I become a jōnin. Though, I think that will be a few years away. I want to focus on my training. What about you? Do you want to become jōnin as soon as possible?” Miyako questioned and Hisoka grinned as he swallowed his food.  
“Of course, the second my Sharingan is mastered, I’m becoming a jōnin. Who knows, by then Takeo may finally be a chūnin,” Hisoka joked, his gaze falling out of the store as he brought the last bit of noodles up to his lips to see a familiar soon to be seven-year-old rushing past. “Hey, Sasuke-kun!”

The boy stopped at having heard his name. he saw his cousin and his older brothers’ friend and ran over to them, a grin on his face. “Hisoka-san! Miyako-chan! Are you two on a date?”

“W-what?” Miyako chocked out, blushing as she coughed on her food. “Of course not, Sasuke. We’re celebrating our rise to chūnin rank,” Miyako explained, gesturing to the vest that was sitting next to her in the booth.

“Wow! You’re as amazing as Itachi-nii!” Sasuke gasped out in excitement, onyx eyes widened.

“Are you on your way home, Sasuke-kun?” Hisoka questioned as he paid for his half of the food and drinks.

“Yep,” Sasuke announced and Hisoka gave Miyako a smile as he stood up and grabbed his new chūnin vest.

“I’ll walk with you, then. See you tomorrow, Mi-chan?” Hisoka questioned and Miyako grinned as she paid for her half of the meal.

“Of course, see you later Hi-kun. Sasuke-kun.”

**...**

Miyako felt sick. She felt wrong. She felt as if something wasn’t quite right. She tossed and turned in her bed before giving up and getting up. She put some shorts on as she was already wearing a singlet top and made her ways downstairs. She slipped on her ninja sandals before leaving the house, locking the door with her keys and heading towards the training grounds.

When she reached the training grounds she got into some light training, practising her weapon throwing and taijutsu. It was two hours after she began training that she decided to rest, body sweating as the cool breeze brushed against her bare arms and legs.

"Miyako-chan."

Miyako jumped, standing up and turning to face the voice to see Itachi standing there in full ANBU gear – minus his mask – and covered in blood. Miyako gave him a smile. "Did you just finish a mission, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi sighed before walking towards Miyako, pulling her into a hug. Miyako stiffened as she felt tears fall on her shoulders and froze when she heard a stray thought cross Itachi's mind. _"I killed all of them. Only Sasuke is left."_

"Itachi... you didn't, did you?" Miyako gasped out nervously, making Itachi let out a sob.

"I suspected you were a Shinjitsu," Itachi replied and Miyako started to shake as she tried to push out of his arms, but he pulled her closer to him. "Please, Miyako-chan, just know I did it for a reason. Look after Sasuke, he'll need someone to watch out for him," Itachi begged.

"Hisoka!" Miyako gasped out as realization hit her as the stray thought she had heard crossed the teens mind again. "No! Let go of me! Bastard! Let go of me!" she shouted, struggling to get out of his embrace.

Itachi let the girl go, she hastily stepped back, eyes filled with tears, anger, confusion, and worst of all, hatred, as she looked at the boy in front of her. Itachi winced at the eyes, his heart clenching at the look she was giving him.

"Miyako-chan, please," he whispered but she cut him off.  
"No! Just leave you, murderer! Don't come near me or Sasuke again!" Miyako screamed before turning around and rushing away, leaving Itachi behind as tears dripped down his porcelain-coloured cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah, this is a much shorter chapter but I figured the emotional impact was enough to make up for the length. If you have any suggestions on ways to lengthen the chapter, please comment. 
> 
> Thank you.


	10. Part II: Chapter Ten

# Part II

“Lately I’ve been,

I’ve been praying hard,

Said no more counting dollars,

We’ll be,

We’ll be counting stars,”

Counting Stars by One Republic

##  **Chapter Ten**

**Konohagakure** was never the same after the day of the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Of course, the pain and absence the village felt was nothing compared to the pain and absence that two individuals felt. One was Uchiha Sasuke, the survivor of the massacre who turned cold and whose hatred for his elder brother started to rule him. The other was Haruno Miyako, who lost not only a teammate and best friends, but two people who – she had to admit five years later – she had a slight crush on.

Of course, the sense of betrayal Miyako felt had pushed her into becoming stronger. She wanted to know _why_ Itachi did what he did, and she wants to protect Sasuke from the darkness slowly growing within him. Because of this, a year after the massacre – and after Sasuke was declared fit (both mentally and physically) – she demanded that she become Sasuke's guardian and that the two moves into a two-bedroom apartment together. At first, the Hokage was against her request. But the more she pushed, the more he realised he couldn't deny her and so – with the permission of the Haruno's – Miyako became Sasuke's legal guardian and the two moved in together.

Currently, Miyako was preparing breakfast for her and Sasuke, consisting of green tea, natto, a banana, white rice, and slightly cooked eggs. She was humming to herself, whilst Sasuke was just starting to wake up. For the young Uchiha, today was important as it was the day that the exams to become a genin began. Miyako remembers her exams, which – over the course of three days – consisted of a written test for spelling, reading, and grammar, a substitution test, a written test for mathematics and strategies, a written test for history and political knowledge, a test on basic taijutsu and weapon throwing, a transformation test, and – finally – the clone test. Overall, there were seven tests, and one had to pass at least two to become a genin.

"Morning, Sasuke," Miyako greeted as the Uchiha walked into the kitchen-diner of their apartment, his hair sticking up every which way and sleep still in his eyes.

"Hn," Sasuke replied groggily as he sat down at the table as Miyako placed his food in front of him before grabbing her food and sitting across from him.

"Are you ready for your exams?" Miyako questioned Sasuke as she mixed the natto, rice, and eggs together with her chopsticks.

"Hn," Sasuke replied as he brought his food to his mouth.

"I'm glad you’re so confident, I was so nervous during my test, I almost vomited right there in the exam room," Miyako explained, shuddering as she remembered that day back when she was seven. "Anyway, I'm going on a mission today, so I might not be back until next week. I spent all of yesterday and last night preparing your Bentos. You'll have to make breakfast yourself."

"Won't this be your first mission as a Jōnin?" Sasuke questioned, knowing that a 'hn' wouldn't convey his question properly – even if Miyako was a master in 'hn' speech.

"That's right. I'll be going with Takeo, Gina, and Tsuneo-sensei. The Hokage gave me the mission last night. We need to take some highly expensive, and rare, medicines to Takumi Village in the Land of Rivers. I should be back by next week, assuming everything goes well," Miyako explained before smiling ruefully. "It'll be nice to work with Gina; we sort of drifted apart after I graduated. We're still friends but..."

Sasuke's dark eyes looked at Miyako who looked sad. He never knew what to say or do when she fell into these moments of sadness, so he finished his banana and tea before getting up to have a shower and get ready, leaving Miyako to gaze out the window of the kitchen.

**...**

"Miyako!" a female voice called as Miyako walked towards the gates of the village three hours later.

Miyako grinned when she saw the silver-haired, grey-eyed beauty that was Ejiri Gina. She ran up to the chūnin, pulling her into a hug, ignoring the grins of both Tsuneo and Takeo. "God, I missed you, Gina. I'm so excited to go on a mission with you."

"Me too. And I can't believe you're a Jōnin already. Honestly, I feel so weak compared to you," Gina stated with a grin.

"How do you two know each other?" Tsuneo questioned in confusion.

"Gina was my first friend at the academy, we were like sisters up until I graduated. In fact, Takeo, Gina, Hi-Hisoka, and I were close growing up," Miyako explained, stuttering over Hisoka's name.

"Yep, and then the three smart-arses decided to go and graduate before me, so the only time we could hang out was on the off days – which was almost never," Gina explained and Tsuneo blushed as he realised that his training that had stopped the trio from visiting their friend regularly. "But that's all in the past, and right now is the present. And you know what that means?"

"We have a mission to complete?" Takeo offered and Gina grinned.

"We have a mission to complete."

**...**

Miyako grinned as she stepped into her apartment a little over a week later. The mission was a success, the team only being attacked once by a group of low-level rouges. The medicine was delivered, the group returned home and were paid for their time.

She had missed her small apartment and had missed Sasuke. She wanted to be there for his graduation, but she had missed it, and she hoped Sasuke brought the report card home with him so she could see how well he done. She also wanted to know about his team, who she knew he would meet today for the first time.

It was already late afternoon, so Miyako decided to begin preparing dinner. Tonight, she decided on Sasuke's favourite - tomatoes with steamed rice. She added a little bit of pork to the dish, mostly because she knew that a growing boy needed his protein. She had just finished preparing the meal when Sasuke returned.

"I'm home," he called out.

"Welcome back, Sasuke," Miyako greeted as he walked into the kitchen, a blank look on his face. "Did you bring your report card? What about your team? Who’s your sensei?" She questioned as Sasuke placed a folder on the bench as Miyako put the food on the stove to cook.

She turned around and grab the report card. Reading everything, and grinning as she realised Sasuke got the highest marks in the class overall. He was the student of the year. The one all sensei's want on his team. The one to look out for.

"Amazing, your scores are the same as mine," Miyako grinned as she turned back to the pan and threw the pork in with the tomatoes. "So, have you met your teammates and sensei yet?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

"That bad huh? Who are they?" Miyako questioned as she grabbed the freshly steamed rice and placed a couple of spoonful’s in each bowl.

"Your cousin, Sakura, and the dobe Uzumaki Naruto," Sasuke replied.

"Sakura and Naruto aren't that bad," Miyako stated, defending her younger cousin. 

"She's a fangirl and he's a class clown, and our sensei is no better," Sasuke stated as Miyako put the pork and tomatoes on top of the rice and placed the bowls on the table.

"And who’s your sensei?" Miyako questioned as Sasuke took his seat and she placed two cups of green tea on the table, taking her seat across from him.

"Itadakimasu," Sasuke and Miyako stated before Sasuke answered her question. "Some Jōnin by the name Hatake Kakashi."

Miyako dropped her chopsticks in surprise. " _The_ Hatake Kakashi?"

"You know him?" Sasuke questioned in surprise.

"Of course, he's a legend. He's one of the best fighters our village has at the moment. In fact, he's perfect to train you. The only thing wrong with him is he's _always_ late... that and he has a habit of failing he's genin teams," Miyako explained with a wide grin.

"We have to do a test tomorrow, he wants us at the training grounds at dawn with no breakfast," Sasuke stated and Miyako gave a sly grin.

"Then you should probably listen to him. I'll prepare a bento for your lunch. You should get a good amount of rest, Kakashi-san is ruthless." 

**...**

The next day, Miyako made her way to the Hokage building. She didn't know why she was called in so soon after her latest mission, but she figured it must've been important as she made her way up the steps to the door that led to the Hokage's office. She knocked on the door and waited before being let in. She stepped in, noticing the Hokage sitting at his desk doing paperwork. When he saw her, he gave her a small smile before gesturing for her to close the door and she made her way up to the desk in front of him.

"Good, I have a mission for you. It's not particularly difficult, and you should be able to have it done by the end of today," the Hokage explained as he stopped writing, placing his pen down to give her his undivided attention.

"The mission, sir?" Miyako questioned, expecting a scroll.

"You are to go to an onsen in Atsuiyama. There you are to meet the sage Jiraiya who will have a scroll for me. The scroll holds important information, and it can't fall into the wrong hands. This is an A-rank mission. If someone gets a hold of the scroll that's not me, set it on fire. Do you understand?" the Hokage questioned and Miyako nodded, schooling her face into an emotionless mask.

"Of course, Lord Hokage," Miyako stated before leaving the office and rushing towards the front gate.

She left the village, knowing that at full ninja speed it will take her a good three hours to reach Atsuiyama. If all goes well, she should finish the mission in time to cook dinner. She ran along the path, before veering off it to cut through the forest, jumping from tree to tree with the ease of a fully trained shinobi. She wondered if she had enough time in Atsuiyama to get some sweets for herself – sweets she couldn't get in Konohagakure – but quickly pushed the thought aside as the importance of the mission took over.

_I wonder what's in the scroll,_ Miyako questioned as she jumped as a weak branch cracked under her. The branch broke as she landed on the branch the next tree over. _Should I have packed some extra supplies just in case?_

" _He never tells me what we're doing, it drives me mad,"_ a male voice flittered across her mind and she stopped in her running, completely hiding her presence from the two people she could sense coming towards her.

She focused on the thoughts, hoping to get more out of them, to gauge if they were friend or foe. She got her answer as the next thought was directed straight at her. _"Miyako-chan, I suggest you continue on. Kisame is bloodthirsty."_

_That_ was a voice she was familiar with. At first, she was tempted to confront him but knew there was no way she would make it out alive – either by his hand or his partners. With that, Miyako shot forward, going around the duo towards the village. Their minds voices faded as she got further and further away. After all, she hadn't spent the last five years doing nothing. She was determined to protect Sasuke – from both Itachi and himself – and trained until she passed out on a daily basis. The training included activating stage three of Shinjitsu no Kokei, which now allowed her to go through one's memories up to two years old.

After that almost altercation, everything was smooth sailing. She reached Atsuiyama, prepared to go to the onsen when she realised, there were three onsens and she had no idea which one Jiraiya was at. Biting her lip, she walked into the village, contemplating how to figure out which onsen she was meant to go to when she heard screams and she followed them to the front of an onsen where woman wearing nothing but towels were beating up a long, white-haired man, she got her answer.

"Take that you pervert!" the girls screamed before walking back into the onsen, making Miyako smirk as she knew exactly who the man on the ground was.

Miyako walked over to the man, kneeling down so she could see his bruised face. He was dazed, and she swears she could see stars spinning around his head. She cleared her throat, waking the man up from his daze. He looked at the girl in front of him, taking in the sight of her ample breasts before as sleazy grin split his face and he lunged towards her, Miyako easily dodging with a look of disgust on her face.

" _You're_ the great sannin Jiraiya? I should've expected as much from the one who writes the Icha Icha series," Miyako stated and the man grinned, shooting up and doing a pose.

"That's correct, I am the one, the only Jiraiya! Do you want an autograph?" he questioned.

Miyako snorted. "No, but I would like the scroll Lord Third has requested."

At the mention of the scroll, Jiraiya turned serious, looking the girl up and down properly, noticing the forehead protector on her forehead. "I see, it's in my room. Come with me... ah, who are you?"

"Haruno Miyako, Jiraiya-sama," Miyako replied as she followed the man towards his hotel.

_"Hmm, with that hair and body, I almost thought she was a Shinjitsu,"_ he's thoughts flitted across her mind, making her roll her eyes, a move that the sannin didn't miss.

"So, Miyako-san, how old are you?" Jiraiya questioned.

"Fourteen," Miyako replied as they made their way inside the hotel.

"And you're a Jōnin? Impressive. You must be quite skilled."

"The Hokage believes so. Though I was only promoted a month ago," Miyako explained as he led her into his room and handed her a scroll with a seal only he or the third could open.

"I see, well then, I'm sure the Hokage told you how important this scroll is. Don't let it fall into the wrong hands," Jiraiya stated and Miyako.

"Of course, Jiraiya-sama. I will be off," Miyako stated before putting the scroll into her travel pack and left, leaving a suspicious sannin behind.

_Is she really who she claims to be?_

**...**

"Here you go, Lord Hokage," Miyako stated as she placed the scroll on his desk three hours later.

"Good, did you have any problems?" Hiruzen questioned Miyako frowned.

"It wasn't a problem, per-say, but I did catch the stray thought of two criminals on my way to Atsuiyama," Miyako stated and Hiruzen gestured for her to continue. "I didn't recognise the first voice, however the second one belongs to Uchiha Itachi. He spoke directly to me and mentioned that 'Kisame is bloodthirsty'."

"Itachi?" Hiruzen questioned in surprise as he stared at the young teen in front of him. "And you said Kisame?"

"Yes sir. I didn't make contact with them besides that one thought from Itachi," Miyako replied and Hiruzen frowned.

"Don't speak of this to anyone. And keep an ear out for either of them, they're too close to the village for my liking," Hiruzen stated and Miyako nodded.

"Yes, Lord Hokage." 


	11. Part II: Chapter Eleven

##  **Chapter Eleven**

**Miyako** sighed as she walked towards the training field where Sasuke was a month later. He had forgotten his lunch – again – and this time Miyako decided to drop it off for him on her way to do her own training. She grinned when she saw the raven haired Uchiha, sitting underneath a tree with a glare on his face as Haruno Sakura chatted away, and a blond-haired boy glared at him.

“Sasuke!” Miyako called, making all three genin look up at the voice.

A look of relief flashed across the Uchiha’s face as he saw the bento box in the girls’ hand. Sakura sighed, pouting when she realised that – once again – Sasuke’s attention was being taken away from her by her own cousin.

“Hn,” Sasuke greeted as Miyako reached the genin and handed Sasuke his bento box.

“Honestly, Sasuke, you need to stop forgetting your lunch. I’m not always going to be around to bring it to you. You know that right?” Miyako questioned and Sasuke nodded as the blond boy shot up, pointing to Miyako.

“Hey, hey! Are you Sasuke’s girlfriend?”

“Hmm? Oh no, I’m Haruno Miyako, his parental guardian,” Miyako replied and the boy frowned.

“Are you related to Sakura-chan?”

Sasuke snorted. “Of course, she is. They’re cousins,” Sasuke stated as he sat down and began eating his food, enjoying the taste of the teriyaki chicken with rice.

The boy stared in surprise as the purple haired girl smiled. “I’m assuming your Uzumaki Naruto. It’s nice to meet the final teammate of Sasuke’s, and he’s rival.”

Naruto’s grin widened. “He talks about us? What’s Sasuke like when it’s just the two of you?”

“More talkative, but that’s really about it,” Miyako replied as she saw a silver-haired male walking up to the group. “You must be Kakashi-san.”

The man studied the young teen in front of him. “You’re Haruno Miyako correct? Sakura’s cousin, and a Jōnin?”

“That’s right. It’s nice to meet you, Kakashi-san,” Miyako greeted with a bow.

“Hold up, this girl – not much older than us – is a Jōnin like you Kakashi-sensei?” Naruto questioned. “Are you sure she’s related to Sakura?”

“And _what_ is that supposed to mean?” Sakura growled, glaring at the now frozen blond as he realised, he just made a big mistake in what he just said.

“He means, you’re pathetic,” Sasuke stated and Sakura fell to her knees on the ground, depression coming off her in waves at the raven’s strong words.

“Sasuke! What have I told you about being civil with others?” Miyako snapped, her hands on her hips as she glared at the twelve-year-old boy in front of her. “I feel sorry for you, Kakashi-san. This team seems to be a handful.”

“Understatement of the year,” Kakashi muttered as he flipped a page of his book.

“Anyway, I better get going. I’m going to do some training in the next field over. You and your team are welcome to join me if you want,” Miyako offered with a kind smile.

“It’s fine. We have another mission to complete,” Kakashi replied and Miyako nodded before waving to the group and heading towards the nearby training field where she prepared to spend the next few hours training.

**...**

Miyako’s training sessions have become more vigorous as the years have gone on. She didn’t make Jōnin by training like a chunin – or worse, training like a genin. She made sure to always fir training in whenever she had free time. Her training schedule was always the same:

First hour – warms up, which included running around the training ground a few dozen times, push-ups, sit-ups, stretches, and star jumps.

Second hour – throwing weapon training. Her goal was to have a near perfect aim, a skill that very few shinobi ever develop. Followed by a thirty-minute break to cool off before going into her third hour.

Third hour – training with her ninjato – which is a sword like a katana only shorter. She was becoming very skilled with it, though there was much room for improvement (considering she chose it as her weapon only a year ago).

Fourth hour – practicing her jutsus. This was the hour she ended up the most exhausted and often took the longest. Her focus right now was Wind Style: Vacuum Blast Barrage, and she knew it will be her last B-rank jutsu before she moves onto the A-rank jutsu she picked for herself to learn. 

Sometimes, there was another hour – between warms-ups and throwing weapons – where someone would spar with her. Usually it was Takeo – who took the chance to practice his healing jutsus when the two got injured. Though sometimes it was Tsuneo or his fiancé Aya. Lately, she’s also been training with Gina, helping her become a better fighter.

Today, just as she finished training with her ninjato, an ANBU appeared. Miyako stopped her training, giving her full attention to the masked man.

“Lord Hokage wishes to speak to you. Now,” the ANBU stated simply before vanishing.

Sighing, Miyako put her ninjato away and headed towards the Hokage tower, wondering what her wanted of her this time. She reached the building and knocked on the door before entering. The Hokage smiled as he saw her.

“Thank you for coming here so quickly. I need to be a liaison between Sunagakure and Konohagakure. The chunin exams will be held here this time, but the Kazekage wishes to be present as his children will be competing this year. I want you to deliver scrolls to Sunagakure when needed. Do you understand?”

“Of course, Lord Hokage. Do you have a message for me to deliver now?” Miyako questioned and Hiruzen nodded, handing a bound scroll to her. She took it from him and placed it in her travelling belt that she always wore for cases like these. “Before I leave, I was wondering if you could inform Sasuke for me?”

“Sasuke won’t be a problem. He has gone on a c-rank mission with his team to the Land of Waves. I suspect they won’t be back for at least two weeks to a month,” Hiruzen explained and Miyako smiled.

“Thank you, sir. I will head off now then.”

**...**

A week later, Miyako was given the second scroll to take to Sunagakure. She was excited to visit the Land of Wind. The last time going there was two year ago on am escort mission. This time she was going to the ninja village, instead off a small village in one of the many oases in the desert that make up the Land of Wind.

The last message she delivered last week was to the boarder, so she hadn’t actually stepped foot in the Land of Wind, much to her disgust.

Miyako wasn’t rushing the mission. She didn’t need to be at Sunagakure for another three days, and she already a quarter of the way there. She was still in the Land of Fire – which was as different to the Land of Wind as the night is to day – and wouldn’t reach the Land of Wind until she was a little under half-way to Sunagakure.

Keeping Miyako company was peregrine falcon named Akemi. Akemi was Miyako’s favourite summoning among the falcon summonings. She learnt to summon the falcons a year ago after saving a young falcon from a wolf. Akemi wasn’t a fighting falcon; she was a surveillance and messenger falcon. Right now, her job was to keep Miyako company on the long trek to Sunagakure.

“Do you think Sasuke-san will be doing the chunin exams this year?” Akemi questioned Miyako, speaking for the first time since they started their walk a few hours ago.

“I’d prefer if he got more experience first. But, knowing Kakashi-san, I wouldn’t be surprised if his team _was_ put up for the exams,” Miyako stated and Akemi giggled.

“You’re so protective of him. Do you think he’s ready for the exams?” Akemi questioned her summoner, who frowned in thought.

‘It’s not that I don’t think he’s ready. Skill wise, he was ready when he graduated from the academy. But experience wise? Sasuke isn’t a team player, preferring to work on his own, he needs more experience working with his team before he’s truly ready for the exam,” Miyako stated. “Besides, Sakura-chan is on the team, and she’s not ready at _all._ Whilst her knowledge on the ninja world is among the best in her age group, her skills are among the worst. She spends too much time focusing on boys and looking good and not training enough. I’ve tried to get her to take training seriously, but it hasn’t sunk in just yet.”

“What about the other kid on the team? The nine-tails host?” Akemi questioned and Miyako frowned.

“I don’t know. I heard he was dead last at the academy, but he can use the multi-shadow clone jutsu. That’s something that most Jōnin wouldn’t even know. He’s a wild card,” Miyako replied and Akemi nodded in agreement.

“So, do you think–” Akemi stopped mid-sentence, eyes narrowing as she sensed a dark chakra appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

Miyako, sensing the change in her summoning, stiffened, put her hand on her ninjato, ready for an attack. She sent her kekkei genkai out further, but she got no thoughts at all. She could _sense_ the chakra – which was strangely familiar – but couldn’t find a voice it belongs to.

“Akemi,” Miyako ordered and the bird nodded, shooting up into the air to get a birds-eye-view of the area, whilst Miyako stayed scanning the ground.

She heard a rustle of some leaves and spun around, pulling out some shuriken and throwing them at the bush, only for a blurred figure to jump out of the way and land in front of her. She studied the figure, who stood taller than her by almost ten centimetres. The figure was a male, wearing a dark grey, hooded cloak, and mask moulded into the shape of a wolf.

Miyako stood, ninjato in front of her, prepared for an attack as she realised that the muddled thoughts were of the person in front of her. She frowned, watching as from behind, a male, grey and brown wolf stepped forward, bent down and prepared for a fight. Akemi shot down and landed on her summoners shoulder, eyeing the wolf wearily.

“Who are you?” Miyako ordered but got no response from the male in front of her. “What do you want? You clearly know who I _really_ am, so you must want something.”

The male in front of her shifted, his clothes rustling. “You’ve grown,” he responded, tilting his head to the side. “You’re stronger. You may be of use to my sensei’s plan later on.’

“Who is your sensei?” Miyako questioned and she heard a chuckle from the man.

“I’m not telling you that. Yet.”

“Who are you?”

“You can call me... Ookami. For now. I will see you again,” the male stated and vanished along with his wolf.

Miyako remained tense, ready for a fight, until she was sure she was alone. Relaxing only slightly, she put her ninjato back, and turned to continue on her path to Sunagakure.

“Are you going to tell Lord Hokage about this?” Akemi questioned and Miyako nodded.

“I will write him a letter later, once we set up camp for the night. I’ll send you to deliver the message,” Miyako stated and Akemi seemed to frown.

“Are you sure that’s wise? What if this Ookami comes back? He may attack you whilst you sleep.”

“I will summon Masaki to keep watch. Does that make you feel better?” Miyako questioned and Akemi nodded in agreement.

“Yes, it will.”

**...**

Early the next day, Hiruzen was sitting at his desk completing paperwork. He hoped for a calm day, but that hope died when there was a tapping at his window. He faced the window and saw Akemi sitting there with a scroll attached to her back.

He was surprised to see Miyako’s summoning, so – with a frown – he opened the window and let the falcon in. He was worried that something had happened to her.

“Lord Hokage. Miyako-sama and I had a run in with someone. She explains it all in here,” Akemi stated and Hiruzen took out the scroll and read it.

Concern flitted across his features as he read the scroll. He placed it down, knowing the whoever this Ookami was didn’t come with good intentions. Hiruzen turned to face Akemi.

“Thank you, Akemi. Tell Miyako to keep an eye out for him. I will inform the others to also keep an eye for the man.”

Akemi nodded, bowing her heard to the Hokage before flying out the window.


	12. Part II: Chapter Twelve

##  **Chapter Twelve**

**The** rest of the trips to Sunagakure left much to be desired as Miyako didn’t run into any trouble. Everything was now sorted, and the Chunin exams were a week away. Miyako was taking some time to rest in her apartment, reading a book, and was startled when the front door opened to reveal an exhausted Sasuke, along with a nervous looking Kakashi.

“Sasuke, is everything alright?” Miyako questioned as she put the book down and rushed to the twelve-year-old boy, checking him over for injuries that she could still faintly see but were obviously healing at good pace.

“There was a complication on the mission,” Sasuke replied simply, and Miyako frowned in response. _That_ didn’t sound too good.

“You go and have a shower, then get some rest whilst I talk to Kakashi-san,” Miyako ordered and Sasuke nodding, heading to his room to grab a fresh set of clothes before having a shower and relaxing bath. Miyako turned to face Kakashi, gesturing to the couch in the living room once Sasuke left. “Please, take a seat. Do you want something to drink?”

“I’m fine, Miyako-san,” Kakashi replied as he sat down on the couch, Miyako sitting next to him with an expectant look on her face, waiting for his explanation on what happened on the mission. When Kakashi didn’t speak Miyako’s frown deepened.

“Well? Are you going to tell me what happened? Or am I going to have to guess?” Miyako questioned in annoyance after a couple of minutes of silence on Kakashi’s half.

“The mission became complicated at the very beginning. The client had lied about the severity of the mission. We had a run in with two chunin from Kirigakure. Perhaps you’ve heard of them, the Demon Brothers?” Kakashi started and Miyako pursued her lips, nodding. She _had_ heard of them. “A day later we ran into Momochi Zabuza.”

Miyako’s eyes widened in shock at hearing that name. “Oh my God, is everyone alright?” Miyako questioned frantically.

“Yes, yes. Sasuke and Naruto both saved me from a water prison jutsu, and we got away after a hunter-nin ‘killed’ Zabuza,” Kakashi stated and Miyako frowned, hearing the quotation marks around the word ‘killed’.

“He wasn’t dead, was he?”

“No. the hunter-nin was working for Zabuza, and a week later we fought them at the bridge. In the battle, we won after a change in circumstances on Zabuza’s side, but Sasuke almost lost his life in the process,” Kakashi explained and Miyako’s blue eyes widened in a mixture of shock and fear at those words.

“What about Sakura? Is she alright?”

“Sakura? She is fine. She didn’t get caught in the crossfire,” Kakashi replied and Miyako relaxed. “Actually, that’s the other reason why I came here. You see, Sakura is weak, to put it lightly. She did nothing the entire time but tried to defend our client. However, I suspect that she wouldn’t have been of much use if an attack was aimed at him.”

Miyako nodded in understanding. “Sakura has always been more focused on appearances and boys than training. I’m surprised she was even allowed to graduate from the Academy, if I’m to be honest.”

“Hmm, I have to agree,” Kakashi stated with a nod. “I am putting them up for the Chunin exams. I don’t think they’re ready to become Chūnin’s, but the experience may help them understand just how serious being a shinobi is. I was hoping that, before the Chunin exams begin, that you can take Sakura on for some private training. Just so she’s not completely defenceless.”

“Of course. She’s my cousin after all. I’d do anything for her,” Miyako stated with a small smile. “Is she at home?”

“Yes. As usual with missions like the last one, I had to inform the parents or parental guardians of what happened. I already told Sakura’s parents, and now you, because you’re Sasuke’s guardian. I now need to go and write a full report for the Hokage,” Kakashi stated and stood up, Miyako standing up as well.

“Of course. Thank you for informing me about what happened. I will talk to Sakura and see if I can get her to train. Even a little bit of training is better than nothing at all,” Miyako stated and Kakashi nodded before leaving.

Miyako then locked the front door and went into the kitchen to prepare rice with chicken and tomatoes for dinner. She decided Sasuke deserved his favourite food after what he went through.

As she cooked, she thought about what she will do to help Sakura. She knew Sakura wouldn’t take the training seriously enough to learn new jutsus. Probably wouldn’t pay enough attention to learn new Taijutsu either, so both of those were out of the question.

Miyako decided to just build up Sakura’s speed, strength, agility, stamina, and the skills she already knew. Who know, maybe the substitution jutsu will save Sakura’s life in the upcoming exams.

**...**

The next day, Miyako made her way over to her aunts and uncles house. She knocked on the door, and it opened to reveal Mebuki standing there. The middle-aged woman grinned when she saw her niece and brought her into a strong hug that knocked the breath out of the teen.

“Miyako? What brings you here?” Mebuki questioned the girl as she led her inside and into the living room. “Do you want some tea?”

“No thank you, Mebuki-baa. I just came to see how Sakura is going,” Miyako explained and Mebuki nodded in understanding.

“She’s fine, even after that atrocious mission. How about Sasuke-kun? He’s your ward, isn’t he?”

“Sasuke’s fine. Recovering but he doesn’t seem all that traumatised. Though he may just be faking it,” Miyako replied with a frown before shaking her head. “Anyways, I came at request of Kakashi-san. He wants to enter Team Seven into the Chunin Exams, and he asked me to train Sakura to better increase her chances of surviving them.”

“Really?” Mebuki questioned in disbelief. “What’s he thinking? Putting his first year genins through such an exam? I wish I could say something but its ultimately up to the sensei and Sakura if she enters.”

Miyako sat down on the couch, Mebuki sitting across from her on the other couch. “They’re not taking being a shinobi seriously. Even Sasuke has in his thick skull that he doesn’t need anyone to help him with _anything_. Even after almost dying in the last mission, he’s as thick-headed as usual,” Miyako explained, pushing some of her purple hair aside. “Kakashi-san believes that having them do the exams will show them that being a shinobi isn’t all fun and games and is serious work.”

Mebuki frowned but nodded in agreement. “I can see where he’s coming from. So, are you going to train Sakura for the next week?”

“Yep. I plan on just building up her speed, strength, agility, and stamina. I also plan on making sure she gets better at the skills she already has. Even the most basic of Ninjutsu can save your life if used in the right way,” Miyako explained, thinking back to the time where the standard clone jutsu saved her life by almost pure fluke on a B-Rank mission.

“Well, Sakura is up in her room. She’s been awake for an hour, but she hasn’t come down for breakfast. Maybe you could get her to come down,” Mebuki stated before standing up and leaving Miyako alone in the living room.

Miyako grinned and went upstairs to the room her and Sakura used to share. She knocked on the door and waited for Sakura to open it. When Sakura saw it was Miyako, she grinned and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Mi-chan, what brings you here?” Sakura asked Miyako as Miyako returned her hug.

“Kakashi-san has asked me to train you. But first, I think you should have breakfast,” Miyako explained and Sakura frowned and pulled back, pushing some of her waist length pink hair behind her shoulder and out of her face.

“I can’t,” Sakura stated, gesturing to some scales on the floor of her room. “I gainted weight in the last month. Sasuke-kun will surely notice. I need to go on a diet and lose the weight as quickly as possible.”

Miyako sighed, contemplating a way to get Sakura to not only eat but train. After a few second an idea formed in her head and she grinned. “Well... training will help you lose the extra weight. But training on an empty stomach will make you sick and Sasuke would not be happy with you vomiting everywhere. Maybe get some food and we’ll do some training. If I know Sasuke, he’ll like you more if you train.”

Sakura bit her lip as she thought Miyako’s words over before nodding with a grin lighting up her features. “That’s right! Sasuke would appreciate me better if he knew I was trying to not only look better but fight better for him! Ok! I’ll get changed into some training clothes and have breakfast. Then we can train.”

“Sounds good,” Miyako replied and left the room so Sakura could get ready, a smug grin on her face at her success in convincing Sakura to not only train but to eat as well.

**...**

Miyako hadn’t realised the extent on how much her cousin was lacking until she assessed her later that day. While Sakura’s knowledge of the ninja world and chakra control was amazing, her skills in everything else were severely lacking. In other words, the pink haired genin needed an intervention, ASAP. And Miyako was more than happy to be the one giving it to her.

“Sakura... how do I put this gently? You suck,” Miyako stated as the pink-haired girl was panting on the ground after sparring with another genin Miyako had enlisted to help with this huge task.

Sakura’s face fell at Miyako’s words but knew her cousin was right. After all, she hadn’t even landed a hit on the other genin and was beaten within a matter of thirty second. And this particular genin had graduated at the same time as her. It was humiliating to say the least.

“I dare say you’re below average for a recently graduated genin. In fact, your skills are that of a genin who will eventually quit and choose another career in the near future,” Miyako continued, making Sakura flinch at the harsh words.

“I’m not that bad! I protected Tazuna-san, did I not?” Sakura tried to defend herself and Miyako just shook her head.

“Standing in front of him in the hopes that your sensei and teammates keep the real threat at bay is _not_ protecting. In fact, it’s just hoping for the best. Sakura, I love you, I do, but I can see what Sasuke means by you being weak _and_ annoying,” Miyako explained, making the thirteen-year-old girl lose faith in herself and become depressed.

“So, what are you saying? That I’m a lost cause? That there’s not point in me even trying?” There were now tears in the girls green eyes and Miyako felt bad.

Miyako shook her head. “No. What I’m saying is that unless you pick up your skills, your teammates will leave you behind. Sasuke won’t even glance at you.”

“So, what should I do?”

“Kakashi-san has given you to me for this week and in that time, I’m going to make sure you can defend yourself against the most basic of attacks. Training will fall into multiple parts. First, I’m going to improve your basic Taijutsu. Second, your Academy ninjutsu. Third, your ninja tool and trap setting skills. And fourth, how to recognise and dispel a Genjutsu, for both yourself and others,” Miyako explained and Sakura nodded, determination flittering across her features. “If I had more time, I’d be training you in other field, but I don’t, and I need to fine tune your basics first.”

“Mi-chan, even after this week, will you train me? I want Sasuke-kun to notice me, and if it means training more, I will do it,” Sakura begged and Miyako smirked, proud at Sakura’s determination.

“How about you see if you can survive the first week first. If you can do that, then we’ll talk about the future.”

Sakura’s face filled with fear for a second before she stood up taller, her face set into determination. “I _will_ survive this week, and all the weeks after it.”

**...**

The week flew by for Sakura as Miyako pushed her to her limit each day. Sakura could feel herself getting stronger, faster, and more confident in herself and her skills. And, whilst the training was exhausting, she was almost excited to go back for more each day.

Sakura hadn’t seen her sensei or teammates since the week prior and was now meeting up with them. She walked towards her two teammates, back straight and head held high. Her confidence didn’t go unnoticed by both Naruto and Sasuke, the latter of which also noticed that the fangirl seemed stronger than she did two weeks ago.

“Sakura-chan! You look happy!” Naruto complimented the girl who grinned proudly.

“I spent the last week training with Mi-chan. She taught me some things and I feel like I’m ready for whatever Kakashi-sensei throws at me,” Sakura stated proudly, her gaze falling to the raven-haired Uchiha before her.

“Hn,” Sasuke grunted and Sakura grinned, knowing that that was more acknowledgment than she had gotten from the Uchiha in a long, long time.

**...**

“ _What_ did you do to Sakura?” Sasuke questioned Miyako as he returned home from the teams’ missions later on in the day.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Miyako replied as she put some ramen noodles on the boil for their dinner.

“You trained her all of last week. Today, when she arrived at our meeting place, she seemed more confident. She even seemed slightly stronger,” Sasuke replied with a confused look on his face. “She’s never shown interest in training before now.”

Miyako grinned. “I just gave her some encouragement.”

Sasuke frowned in suspicion, not liking the grin on Miyako’s face. “What type of encouragement?”

“The truth,” Miyako replied and Sasuke frowned even more, making the girl laugh. “I told her you’d be more interested in her if she was stronger, that’s all,” Miyako explained turning around to see the horrified look on Sasuke’s face. Miyako laughed. “Don’t worry. I know you’re not interested in my cousin right now. But, who know? Maybe in the future thing might change and you might choose her to be your wife.”

Sasuke snorted, a blush on his cheeks. “I’d rather marry Yamanaka Ino. At least _she’s_ strong.” 

“Does it really matter if your wife is strong?” Miyako questioned and Sasuke nodded, standing up straight.

“My father said that a strong woman produces strong heirs,” Sasuke stated and Miyako dropped her spoon into the boiling water, staring at the boy in shock at his (fairly sexist) words.

“You are too young to be thinking about that!” Miyako shouted in shock.

Sasuke grunted and went to his room, leaving a dumbstruck Miyako behind.

**...**

“And then he just walked out, not even explaining himself to me,” Miyako exclaimed as both Gina and Takeo laughed, picturing Miyako’s face over the conversation.

The trio were at BBQ for lunch the next day, and Miyako had just told her friend about what had transpired the night before between her and Sasuke. Everyone at the table thought the conversation between her and Sasuke was just hilarious and could barley hold back their tears.

“Oh my God, you poor thing,” Gina said through giggles.

“Though let’s be honest, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise. He has announced his goals are to kill his brother and restore his clan. Obviously he’s already planning both,” Takeo stated with a smirk as he grabbed some beef from the BBQ in front of them.

“I _know_ , but I didn’t realise he’s been thinking about it _this_ much. Honestly, dinner last night was awkward,” Miyako explained as she grabbed some chicken that had been marinated in a sweet chili and lime marinade.

“What I’m surprised about is that his father had said such a thing to him. He would’ve been no older than seven at the time,” Gina pointed out as she grabbed some fish and placed it on the BBQ to cook.

“I’m not. It’s normal for clans to act like that. They instil it into their children young that the stronger the parents the stronger the offspring. Clans want the best of their members after all,” Takeo stated and I nodded in agreement, having overheard similar things when my clan was still alive.

“God am I glad I’m not in a clan. It sounds absolutely horrid,” Gina stated and Takeo and Miyako shared a knowing look. “And poor Sasuke, the existence of his clan is literally riding on his shoulders. I doubt Itachi is going to be having children anytime soon.”

Miyako flinched at the mention of the elder Uchiha. She avoided the name where possible, always referring to hm as the elder Uchiha, or Sasuke’s brother. She was still hurt from that night. She reached up and touched the necklace she still wore. Outside of Konohagakure, Itachi was the only one who knew the truth of her heritage. Something she wasn’t sure she liked.

“Gina,” Takeo hissed as he gestured to Miyako, making Gina’s silver eyes widen.

“I’m sorry, Miyako. I forgot about your history with him.”

“It’s fine. I’m over it,” Miyako lied before forcing a grin onto her face. “Anyway, let’s just get back to lunch. Got any stories to tell me about the hospital?”


	13. Part II: Chapter Thirteen

##  **Chapter Thirteen**

**Miyako** bit her lip as she sat on a tree outside of the Academy. Today was the day where the Chunin Exams begin, and Miyako was both excited and nervous for her cousin Sasuke. She was told by the Hokage not to interfere and she had no intentions of doing so. She just wanted to watch the duo try their best.

Miyako watched as the trio of genins finally entered the room, wide-eyed at the sight of all the shinobi around them from different villages. Even Sasuke’s eyes widened a little bit at the sight. Miyako watched, from a distance and amused, as the trio met up with the other Rookies.

She couldn’t help but frown at the thought, not understanding why the Hokage had allowed the rookie genin – not even six months out of the Academy – participate in the Chunin Exams. Then again, she should be blaming their Jōnin instructors.

_Don’t they know that people die in these exams?_ She wondered briefly.

“Miyako-san, I see you’re here observing Sasuke and Sasuke,” Kakashi stated as he appeared next to the girl.

“Yeah. I’m worried about them. _All_ of them. every single rookie is drawing attention to themselves,” Miyako stated, watching as a silver haired man with glassed walked up to the group of nine genin. Miyako frowned in thought. “That’s the one that quits every exam’s, right? When he reaches the second exam he always claims to be exhausted or injured.”

“Hmm?” Kakashi hummed, looking over his book to the person Miyako spoke about, a frown underneath his navy-blue mask. “You’re right. That’s not normal.”

“Is that...? Are those...? Information cards?” Miyako stuttered out as the silver haired teen pulled out a stack of cards. Kakashi nodded, frowning as he realised the threat that this particular genin held to those around him.

“Miyako-san, Hokage-sama told me about your predicament and relation to the Haruno’s when I took Sakura on as my genin. Tell me, can you hear anything?” Kakashi questioned and Miyako – not even surprised by what he said – nodded and activated her kekkei genkai.

“Sure, Kakashi-san,” Miyako replied, concentration on sensing the thoughts surrounding her.

It took her a minute to differentiate whose voice where whose. The more familiar the voice, the easier it is to pick it up. She didn’t know the silver haired teens voice, and it took her a full minute to find his thoughts. When she did, she sat up straighter and frowned.

_‘The Uchiha seems interested in the one-tailed Jinchūriki. He probably senses the strength coming from the boy and wants a fight. I should inform Orochimaru-sama off this. Perhaps we can use this to our advantage.’_

“What did you hear?” Kakashi questioned, noticing the frown on the female teens face.

“From what I can gathers, he’s interested in Sasuke. And it seems he is working with Orochimaru,” Miyako stated, just as another thought flooded the girls mind. She could sense the bloodlust and want radiating off it but couldn’t locate the person it belonged too.

_‘There he is. Good job, Kabuto. Make him trust you. My new vessel.’_

Miyako stiffened, eyeing everyone in the room wearily. “I think... Orochimaru may be here,” Miyako stated and Kakashi stood up straight, putting his book away.

“You stay and watch the exams. I’ll inform Hokage-sama on what you heard. Keep an eye on the silver-haired genin, and an ear out for Orochimaru,” Kakashi ordered before disappearing in a poof.

Miyako turned back to the classroom, grinning when she saw the silver-haired teen on the ground, coughing up blood. At that moment, a large, deeply tanned man walked into the room. She recognised him immediately as Morino Ibiki, head of the Interrogation and Torture Division. She smirked as she quickly realised the point of the test and sat back against the tree, getting comfortable to watch the event unfold. 

**...**

She was impressed, to say the least. Miyako was impressed with the group of genin in this year’s exam. She hadn’t seen so many skilled shinobi in a while. She watched as Sakura wrote down the answers with no problem – only to get her mind invaded by a member of the Yamanaka Clan who was also a rookie. Sasuke used his Sharingan to copy the movements of another’s hand, and a Hyūga from last years rookies used his Byakugan to see the answers sheets a few rows in front of him. Of course, she was also impressed as an Inuzuka rookie used his dog to gain the answers, an Aburame rookie from the same teams used his bug, and a female from one of last years rookie teams used mirrors on the ceiling to find her answers. How she got them up there, Miyako wasn’t sure, but it sure was impressive.

She was amazed with the level of skill that the Konohagakure genins showed. Of course, she didn’t miss when a female Hyūga rookie offered to give the answers to Naruto. Miyako knew the Chūnin’s in the room noticed, and everyone waited with bated breath to see if Naruto would take the opportunity. Everyone sighed when he refused, and he actually lost a point because he didn’t the opportunity to use an enemy’s weakness against her.

Miyako’s gaze flitted around the room to see what other tactics the genins used. She had to stop herself from laughing when she saw this year Nara rookie sleeping, already having finished his test. Miyako noticed that one of the Chūnin’s wasn’t real, and followed the chakra string to a Sunagakure genin, who had yet to write anything on his piece of paper. She also noticed a red-haired Sunagakure genin using an eye made out of sand to gather intel. She admired the skills of the Sunagakure genins, knowing that they will go far in the exams.

She kept watching and soon Ibiki announced the final question. She watched as there was outrage at the question, and then watched as teams gave up one by one. She suspected that more would’ve given up if Naruto hadn’t made a speech that seemed to inspire them more.

Miyako quickly jumped from her tree as a ball shot passed her and into the window. She umped back into the tree and saw a purple haired Jōnin wearing very little standing there. Thanks to the hole in the window, she could hear what was being said and laughed when she realised that the Jōnin was the proctor of the next exams. And that she was a day early.

**...**

“You know, Sasuke, the next exam won’t be so easy,” Miyako stated as she sat across from Sasuke, eating some gyozas and rice.

“Hn,” Sasuke grunted in response as he picked up a gyoza and dipped it into some dipping sauce before putting it into his mouth.

“I’m serious, you need to get your sleep. I’ll pack you a bag for tomorrow, that way you’ll have some food and emergency supplies with you,” Miyako stated as she took a sip of her water.

“I don’t need it,” Sasuke replied and Miyako frowned in annoyance.

“Fine then. But don’t come crying to me when you almost die out there. Remember, the next exams is about survival, and just surviving attacks from other shinobi. Just... be careful, ok? I can’t lose you too.”

Sasuke got up from the table as he swallowed his last bite, thanking Miyako for the food before going to his room. He couldn’t help but feel an ache in his heart. The ache appeared whenever Miyako acted like an older sister or parent to him. Even though he wouldn’t admit to anyone else, he loved Miyako. Maybe not as anything more than a sister, but he did, and the pain she felt also drove him to seek revenge against the one who caused her the pain. His brother.

Even at a young age, Sasuke knew about the purple-haired girl his brother was infatuated with. In fact, he remembers his mother teasing his brother about it. When Miyako came over to the house, which was few and far between, she often talked with Sasuke and Sasuke couldn’t help but to develop a small crush on her. Back then, anyway.

Now, it was a different story. He wanted to become stronger, to avenge his clan, avenge her, and to protect her from his brother. As much as Sasuke hated to admit it to himself, he knew brother had had deep feelings for the girl, and Sasuke often found himself worried that his brother would return and either kill Miyako or take her with him. At this point, Sasuke wasn’t sure what was worse.

Grunting, Sasuke grabbed his nigh clothes and went into the bathroom to have a scalding hot shower. He wanted a break from his thoughts, and the pain of the hot water gave it to him. If only for a few minutes. 

**...**

While Sasuke was having a shower, Miyako was called to the Hokage’s office. She walked in head held high, noting Kakashi, who was standing in a corner, leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets.

“Kakashi informed me on what you had heard earlier today during the first exam,” the Third stated simply as the girl shut the door to his office.

“What are we going to do about it?” Miyako questioned and the Hokage sighed, placing his chin on his hands in thought. Miyako frowned, as a snippet of his thought flitted through her mind.

_‘Is what she claim true?’_

Miyako glared at the Hokage. “I’m _not_ lying. I know what I heard, and it sounded like Orochimaru is up to something. And it has to do with Sasuke. I propose we have someone watching him at all times. Even during the next exam,” Miyako stated and the Third sighed, leaning back into his chair as he took a puff of his pipe.

“You shouldn’t be listening in on my thoughts, Miyako-san,” the Third chastised before holding his hand up to stop her retort, “however, I trust your judgement and I will put someone to watch Sasuke at all time. In fact, during the next exam, I want _you_ to follow Team Seven to make sure they don’t run into Orochimaru. The next exam is the perfect time for Orochimaru to come into contact with Sasuke after all.”

Miyako nodded in agreement, happy with what the Hokage had suggested.

“Now then, if that’s all, meeting adjourned.”


	14. Chapter 14

##  **Chapter Fourteen**

**The** next day Miyako stealthily followed Sasuke to the Forty-Fourth Training Ground (which also happened to be known as The Forest of Death). She watched as Mitarashi Anko – a sadistic Jōnin with purple hair who worked in the Torture and Interrogation Unit – explained the exam, and then as some pre-academy kids came to do interviews for the Academy Newspaper.

Miyako watched as Anko gave out some consent forms – which the prospective chūnin’s had to sign to say that they accepted the fact that they could die and the Konohagakure was _not_ to be blamed for their death. Once the teams signed the forms, they got their scrolls and went to their assigned gates.

Miyako waited for the teams to have been in The Forest of Death for one hour and thirty minutes before following after Team Seven. She easily located Team Seven, sensing their chakra and thoughts to guide her way to them. She found Naruto first, stuck inside a giant snake that she suspected was a summoning. Miyako went to get Naruto out, but stopped when the snake burst, blood, guts, and shadow clones shooting out of it and around the clearing.

“Oh Gods, that’s gross,” Miyako muttered in disgust before jumping in front of Naruto.

Naruto, who was still freaked out about being eaten by a giant snake, attacked Miyako with a punch. The Jōnin easily dodged the attack and held Naruto’s fist when he moved to attack her again. When Naruto recognised the teen in front of him, he stopped, relaxing a little bit.

“You’re Sakura-chan’s cousin, right?” Naruto questioned the teen.

“That’s right,” Miyako nodded. “Where are your teammates?” Worry was starting to fill her as she started to have a hard time locating the duo.

“I don’t know,” Naruto muttered before his blue eyes widened. “I was separated from them, swallowed by this _giant_ snake. We have to find them!”

Miyako nodded in agreement, not liking the feeling that something was wrong sitting in her gut. She gestured for the genin to follow her as she still had a slight sense on the whereabout of the two missing genin.

Naruto and Miyako shot through the forest, spotting the duo standing in fear on a branch. Naruto overheard Sasuke giving up the scroll and jumped ahead of a surprised Miyako, snatching the scroll from the air. Miyako sighed as she jumped next to Naruto, Sasuke’s onyx eyes widening as Sakura cheered in relief at the sight of her cousin.

“Mi-chan!” Sakura exclaimed, grinning as she felt hope fill her at the thought of being safe from the Grass genin in front of them.

“Miyako,” Sasuke muttered, hope also filling his chest at the sight of his guardian.

Miyako ignored the two brightly dressed genin and face the Grass genin, reaching into her mind, only to hear a male voice.

_‘A Jōnin? What’s she doing here? My plan has just become more complicated.’_

Miyako frowned. “Orochimaru, I presume?”

The Grass-nin let out a smirk. “You saw through my disguise. And quite easily at that. How is that? You’re too young to remember me.”

“The how doesn’t matter. What matters is what are you planning on doing to Sasuke?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened at Miyako’s statement. He never understood it, but he knew she had an uncanny ability to guess what one was thinking. Sometimes he thought she had the ability to read minds, though he was sure that _that_ was an ability that was impossible.

“You even know what I’m here for. Interesting,” Orochimaru replied, looking the girl up and down in interest. “If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve said you were a Shinjitsu Clan member. But they’re supposably extinct.”

“Of course she isn’t! She’s my cousin!” Sakura announced proudly. “And she’ll kick your arse!”

“Sakura,” Miyako stated, and the girl looked to her cousin in interest, “Shut up.” Sakura flinched at the harsh words, and at the glare she hadn’t seen for a long, long time.

“Wait a minute. You _are_ a Shinjitsu Clan member. I remember now. You were five years old when we last met. I see you’ve become a Jōnin since then. Tell me, how many levels of your kekkei genkai have you activated?” Orochimaru questioned with a grin, finally recognising the girl that had gotten away from his grasp all those years ago. He had always wondered what became of her.

“No she’s not! She’s my cousin! A Haruno! Haruno Miyako!” Sakura exclaimed, not liking the words spouting out of Orochimaru’s mouth.

“Oh, do they not know? Kept it from you dear ‘cousin’?” Orochimaru teased. “Remember that day, Miyako _-chan?_ You fought me to protect _her._ And yet, you’re not even related,” Orochimaru stated with a chuckle, Sakura looking between him and Miyako, fear filling her at the idea of having been lied to her whole life.

“It’s confidential information, Orochimaru. In other words, a need to know. And Team Seven don’t need to know,” Miyako stated with a sneer as she tried to reach into Orochimaru’s thoughts, only to come up a blank, making the girl frown in frustration. “Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto, get out of here. Run as far and fast as you can. I’ll hold this snake off.”

“But–” Sasuke went to argue, but a glare from Miyako shut him up. He clenched his teeth but nodded. “Ok, Sakura, Naruto, let’s get out of here.”

“What the hell? We can’t just leave her here!” Sakura shouted in anger, glaring at the Uchiha for the first time in her life. Her love for her cousin outweighed her infatuation with the Uchiha. At least, temporarily. “I’m staying.”

“You’ll only get in my way. Leave. Now,” Miyako ordered as she pulled out her ninjato.

Orochimaru smirked as the girl charged towards him. He easily dodged her attack, not underestimating her like he did when she was a mere child. Miyako spun around, aiming her ninjato towards Orochimaru’s throat with the intentions of slicing his head clean off. He dodged the attack and shot towards her, aiming a punch towards her face. Miyako dodged the attack – barely – and jumped back a few paces, watching Orochimaru wearily. She noted in the back of her mind the Team Seven were gone.

Orochimaru sighed in exasperation. “It seems Sasuke-kun is gone. I’ll have to deal with you before going after him.”

Orochimaru summoned a katana and charged towards Miyako. Miyako’s ninjato came up to meet the blade in a flurry of sparks. Orochimaru was heavier than Miyako and used his weight against her to push hear back. Miyako dropped her ninjato and dodged the katana’s swipe, though it nicked her on the cheek. Miyako weaved some hand signs.

“Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique,” Miyako muttered, shooting the Genjutsu towards Orochimaru.

Orochimaru – having not expected the attack – found himself surrounded by leaves. The leaves fell away and he watched as another him appeared. This one dead on the ground. Fear coursed through Orochimaru, but he managed to break the Genjutsu (after all, it _was_ only a D-Rank jutsu). As the Genjutsu faded, Orochimaru found himself face to face with a lightning hound. The jutsu struck Orochimaru, making him fall backwards into some trees, some of his skin peeling off due to the damage.

Orochimaru chuckled as he pushed himself up to a stand. “I see you’re a strategist. Distract me with a low level Genjutsu to line up a high level Ninjutsu. Very clever. But, you’ll have to do more than that if you expect to defeat me.” Orochimaru rushed through hand signs before drawing blood from his finger. “Binding Snake Glare Spell!”

Two snakes shot out of Orochimaru’s sleeves, shooting towards Miyako. She went to dodge them, but they separated, making one come from the top, and the other from the bottom. She quickly found herself trapped by both the snakes, the snakes constricting her breath.

Orochimaru chuckled again. “You fought well, but I have a Uchiha to mark. These snakes should keep you constricted until I’m done. Who knows, I may be back to mark you as well.” With that, Orochimaru vanished, leaving Miyako to fight against the snakes, who only tightened their bodies around her.

She quickly found herself losing consciousness as she couldn’t breath properly. Her last thought were ‘ _I hope Team Seven got away.’_

**...**

The beeping of medical machines is what woke Miyako up. She found herself in the hospital, taped to multiple monitoring devices. In the room, Hiruzen sat, watching the girl, a grim look on his face. When he saw that she was awake, his grim look turned into a kind, grandfatherly smile. “He didn’t get the chance to mark you with the curse seal.”

Miyako sighed in relief. “What happened?”

“He got to Sasuke. You’ve been out for a week. When Anko found you, you were on the verge of death from those snakes of his. Sasuke is in here too,” Hiruzen explained, gesturing to the bed on the other side of the room, where Sasuke slept.

“Damn it! I was useless,” Miyako muttered, starting at the young Uchiha and the mark on his neck.

“Even I would have trouble fighting him. The only person I know of who could even stand a chance of killing him alone, without losing their life in the process, is probably Itachi,” Hiruzen stated, making Miyako flinch at the mention of the man who had given her the necklace she currently wore around her neck.

“You trained him well,” Miyako stated with a bitter laugh as she sat up, reaching for the pitcher of water and a glass. She poured herself some water before taking slow sips of the drink. “What will happen to Sasuke now?”

“Sasuke made it into the finals of the chunin exams. He will be training with Kakashi. The seal we put on the curse mark will hold as long as Sasuke’s resolution holds. If it wavers, the seal will break,” Hiruzen explained, and Miyako nodded in understanding.

“Did Naruto or Sakura make it to the final exams?”

“Naruto did. Sakura tied with Ino,” Hiruzen explained with a sigh. “They told me what happened. I explained to all three of them about your heritage. Sakura was shocked. I think that may be why she lost against Ino. She was confused and worried about you and Sasuke. What will you do for the next month?”

“I’ll see if Sakura would like to continue her training. We need to talk after what happened in the forest. I’ll also keep an ear out for anything to do with Orochimaru,” Miyako replied and Hiruzen nodded in understanding, before standing up.

“I’ll go and inform the doctor that you’re awake. With luck, you will be in the all clear to leave the hospital by the end of the day,” Hiruzen explained before leaving Miyako to her thoughts.


	15. Part II: Chapter Fifteen

##  **Chapter Fifteen**

**Sakura** Haruno was the pink haired ‘cousin’ of Miyako Haruno. Many of Sakura’s teachers have wondered in the past how the pink-haired girl could be so weak compared to her purple-haired cousin. No one, not even Sakura herself, knew that Miyako was the last surviving member of Shinjitsu Clan.

Now that Sakura knows, she feels alone. Confused even. Left out. Her parents knew. The Hokage knew. Hell, her own sensei knew. But she didn’t. so, when Sakura knocked on the door to Miyako’s apartment, she wasn’t sure what she was going to say. What she didn’t was that the first word to come out of her pink lips after seeing Miyako was “why?”

Miyako sighed and gestured for her cousin to come into the apartment she shared with her cousin’s infatuation. Sakura hesitated, but decided to go in, removing her shoes at the genkan before following Miyako to the lounge room. There, Sakura took a seat on the couch, moving a jumped with the Uchiha symbol on it to the floor. Sakura never though Sasuke would be a bit of a slob but considering that he’s clothes were the only ones lying around, it appears he was.

“I’m sorry, Sakura. I wanted to tell you sooner, but your parents thought you weren’t ready,” Miyako explained as she walked to the kitchen and turned the kettle on, grabbing two mugs from the cupboard and placing them on the off-white coloured bench. “I thought we should’ve told you when you graduated. But they wanted to wait until you were a chunin.”

“So, we’re not cousin? So me being weak is _genetic?_ I’ll never amount to anything more than a chunin at most, just like my parents?” Sakura questioned with tears in her green eyes.

Miyako looked at the young teen in surprise, before filling the cups up with the now boiled water and grabbing a green tea bag for each cup. She placed the bags into the cups and turned to face Sakura whilst they soaked in the boiling water.

“Of course not. You being weak isn’t because off genetics. It’s because you don’t take training seriously. There are plenty of shinobi of high ranks that come from a nameless family or low-level clan. They work hard to be strong. You too, can reach their heights if you trained hard enough,” Miyako explained, turning back around and pulling the teabags out of the tea, placing them on the sink and walking over with the mugs in her hand. She handed one to Sakura.

“Thanks,” Sakura said, before taking a small sip of her drink. “Training like how you had me train the week before the chunin exams? Is that the sort of training you’re talking about?”

Miyako sighed, shaking her head in the negative. “No. It would need to be more intense. You need to find a fighting style that works for you. No one is meant to be an all-rounder in fighting. Everyone specialises in one way or another.” Miyako paused as she took a sip from her tea. “For example, my fighting is based predominantly on Taijutsu and use of weapons, as well as my kekkei genkai. Sasuke’s is predominantly ninjutsu and Taijutsu... for now. Naruto is predominantly Taijutsu combined with his shadow clones and throwing weapons. Everyone is different. Kami knows my team was.”

“You had an Uchiha on your team, didn’t you?”

Miyako nodded, a solemn look crossing her features as she thought about her best friend. “Uchiha Hisoka. He was my best friend. He focused on Genjutsu and Ninnjutsu above all. Takeo, my other teammate, became a medic-nin. He fights mostly using his medical knowledge and Taijutsu. My sensei, Tsuneo Higa, was a ninjutsu master. We were a well-balanced team.” A small smile cross Miyako’s features as she thought about her old team and took another sip of her drink.

“What about me? I’m not particularly good at _anything._ ”

“Not true. You have amazing chakra control. You could become a great medic-nin. And your intelligence is great too, you’d also become a good Genjutsu master if you trained hard enough. You have so much potential. Even if you’re the only one in your team not from a clan,” Miyako stated and Sakura frowned.

“Naruto’s not from a clan,” she stated and Miyako shook her head.

“Not true. He’s from the Uzumaki Clan. They’re not a proper clan anymore, their members are scatter to the four corners of the Earth. But they were once a powerful clan known for their large quantities of chakra and their sealing jutsus. They even lived in their own hidden village,” Miyako explained, and Sakura stared at the girl with wide eyes.

“So, I really _am_ the odd one out in my team. No kekkei genkai like Sasuke-kun. No secret clan jutsu or clan abilities like Naruto. I’m just normal, boring Sakura,” Sakura whimpered, tears now spilling from her eyes as Miyako slammed her mug onto the counter, eyes a stony blue.

“No you’re not! Being a part of a clanless family give you an advantage clan kids don’t have! No one expect anything from you. They don’t expect you to excel in a certain area, they don’t expect you to be anything more than a chunin. In other words, your enemies will see you as weak and underestimate your skills. You’re a blank slate. You can be the start of your own shinobi family history,” Miyako announced with a grin. “ _And_ I’m going to help you get there. For the next month, we’re going to train and train and train. I’ll discover your chakra nature and teach you jutsus’ to match. We’ll make you the best kunoichi of your generation. What do you think?”

Sakura bit her lip as she looked at her almost empty mug of tea. She knew what Miyako’s training was like. She went through said training only a few short weeks ago. She knew that this time, the training will be harder, faster, and longer, and the thought of it already made her exhausted. Yes something in her, the urge to prove herself, to not fall even further behind her two male teammates urged her to train. And maybe, just maybe, her Sasuke-kun would notice the new and improved Sakura.

Sakura grinned, placing her mug on the coffee table in front of her and standing up, hand in a fist. “I’ll do it!” Sakura announced proudly, and Miyako grinned.

“Great! I’ll plan out a training routine tonight. Meet me at Training Ground Sixteen at six o’clock tomorrow morning. And make sure you have a good breakfast. I’m not letting you pass out on me due to lack of fuel in your system. Also, ask your mother to pack a bento for you for tomorrow. You won’t be leaving the training grounds until almost six o’clock,” Miyako ordered and Sakura gulped but nodded.

“I understand, Mi-chan. See you tomorrow!”

Sakura left after putting her shoes on and Miyako smiled as she went about cleaning up the mess from the drinks and Sasuke came out of his room, leaning against the wall to the kitchen, looking out the window. He watched as Sakura made her way through the streets.

“Do you think she can become strong?” Sasuke asked Miyako and Miyako looked at him with a grin.

“I think that one day, she could even surpass me.”

**...**

At six o’clock in the morning, on the dot, Sakura arrived at Training Grounds Sixteen. There, she saw Miyako already waiting near some sparring stumps. Next to the stumps she saw a bento that she knew was Miyako’s lunch and placed her lunch down on top of it before facing her cousin.

“OK, so I thought long and hard about how to go about your training. I decided that first things first we should find out your chakra nature,” Miyako stated, holding up a piece of chakra paper. “I’m sure you know what this is. But just to be sure. This is chakra paper; it reacts to the nature of your chakra. It turns wet with water. Crinkles with lightning. Slashes in half with wind. Crumbles with earth and bursts into flame with fire. All you have to do is run some chakra into the paper to find out your chakra type... or types.”

Sakura nodded in understanding and grabbed the piece of paper off Miyako. Sakura focused her chakra into the paper and was surprised when it soaked through and then crumbled. “Water and earth? I have two?”

“Amazing! You don’t often find people with a natural ability for two chakra natures. Unfortunately, I can’t help you with earth based ninjutsu. However, I _can_ help you with water based ninjutsu. My best friend, Gina Ejiri is a water based ninjutsu expert, as well as a medic-nin. I’ll ask her to join us some days for your training,” Miyako explained and Sakura nodded in agreement.

“So, what now, Miyako-sensei?”

Miyako grinned at the new title. She always wanted to teach someone what she knows. “OK, so for the first hour we will be warming up with simple push-ups, sit-ups, and light jog. The second hour we’ll be perfecting your throwing weapons skills. The following two hours after that we’ll be focusing on Taijutsu, teaching you new skills and practicing old ones. Then we’ll focus on non-throwing weapons. We will choose a weapon best suited for you, such as a katana, ninjato, and the likes for you to train with. After those three hours are up, we have an hour for lunch and a break. After lunch, we’ll warm up again for an hour, then spend two hours practicing your ninjutsu skills. And the last two hours will be spent on building up your endurance, strength, and flexibility. Which remind me! I have a gift for you.”

Miyako grinned as she leant down and picked up some weights from the ground. “They are one kilogram each. Each day, we’ll add another kilogram. So it goes up by four each day. These will help you build up your strength and endurance and is one of the oldest training tools to date. Anyone who does Taijutsu should use these to train with. I know I do, and so does my old teammate Takeo.”

“I saw Lee take his off during the chunin exams. He was so fast. Will that happen to me?” Sakura questioned as she took the weights off of Miyako and started to put them on her arms and legs.

“In time. If you stick to it. Now then, give me twenty-push ups, sit-ups, and five laps around the training field!” Miyako ordered and Sakura nodded.

“Yes, Miyako-sensei!”

Sakura shot off to do her warm-ups as Miyako leant against a stump, her gaze falling up to a tree where Sasuke rested, watching his pink-haired teammate train below him.


	16. Part II: Chapter Sixteen

##  **Chapter Sixteen**

**Miyako** watched with pride as Sakura trained hard. The month was almost up, and Sakura is stronger, faster, and overall _better_ than ever before. She was more confident in herself and had seemed to almost mature in the short month since they started. Miyako couldn’t wait for Sasuke and Naruto to see her cousin now. She knew they’d both be impressed.

Right now, Sakura was sparring with a genin who graduated the previous year. They were exchanging blows, using Taijutsu only. Sakura and the genin had been training together since the beginning, and today was the first day that Miyako could picture Sakura coming out on top of the spar. And sure enough, with a kick to the knee joint, Sakura managed to pin her training partner down to the ground, a kunai to the genins neck.

Miyako grinned and started to clap slowly at the show the two genins had put on. Sakura looked up in shock, sweat dripping down her porcelain skin as she realised what she had done. Sakura grinned, shooting off her partner and running over to Miyako. 

“I did it, Miyako-sensei! I beat her!”

“I knew you would, one day. Tomorrow is the final exam, after that you can show the boys how much you’ve improved,” Miyako stated with a grin and Sakura smirked, standing up straighter and pushing some of her short hair behind her ear.

“Will you be attending, Sakura-san?” the other genin questioned as she stood up. Her pride was hurt a little bit, but she was proud of the girl that beat her all the same.

“Yep. What about you, Mi-chan?” Sakura answered, looking toward her cousin.

“Yes, I will be attending. Lord Hokage has set me up as security for the arena. I will be standing somewhere watching for suspicious activity,” Miyako explained. “Now then, that’s enough training for today. How about you two go and rest before tomorrow?”

“Sounds good. Do you want to get some dango with me, Sakura-san?” the genin asked Sakura.

“No thanks. I’m going to show off my new skills to Ino. See you around,” Sakura replied before running off, the genin following her at a slow pace.

Miyako sighed before making her way out of the training field. She was tired, never allowing her Hidden Jutsu to turn off for even a m minute after the threat of Orochimaru became prevalent within the village. And whilst she wanted nothing more than to rest, she had to take up guard duty near and around the Uchiha Compound.

She made he way to the edge of Konoha, shivering at the sight of the abandoned compound which had once held the great – but still powerful – Uchiha Clan. She avoided this place as often as she can. But sometimes she was placed on guard duty. This area was dilapidated that it was easy for missing-nins to sneak in and out of the village. Even knowing this weakness, there was only ever one guard covering the area instead of the standard two to four.

Miyako stopped in front of the gateway leading into the compound before taking a deep breath and walking in. Her job right now was to search every house to make sure no one who wasn’t supposed be there was there. It would take her the better part of two hours to thoroughly check the houses, and she was on the shift for four hours total.

Miyako moved in and out of the houses, going into abandoned kitchens that still had rotten food waiting at tablets, living rooms with dusty couches and old-fashioned TV sets, bathrooms – some of which held blood in the bath or shower where a member had been killed, and bedrooms where beds that were set up for the night were waiting for their owners to return. All the houses still held their furniture, knickknacks, and other personal possessions, though now most of it was covered in dust and moth bitten, and most of the rooms had a least one remaining bloodstain.

Miyako soon reached the house she dreading the most. The home of her best friend and teammate Hisoka. She walked in slowly, heaviness filling the air as she looked around the entranceway. She walked into the kitchen, where a bloodstain sat next to the stove – right where Uchiha Shizuka, the mother of Hisoka, had been when Itachi swooped in and ended hr life.

Miyako flinched at the thought before making her way into the living room where another bloodstain was situated on the couch where Uchiha Michio – the father of Hisoka – had been when his life came to an end. Miyako made her way upstairs to the bedrooms, checking them for signs of life. The last room she checked was Hisoka’s old room. She opened the door and froze, pulling a kunai out as she saw the broad-shouldered figure of Ookami.

“ _What_ are you doing here?” Miyako questioned, studying the grey clad, wolf masked male in front of her.

“Checking things out,” Ookami replied simply, picking up the team photo of Team Four. “You and your teammates seem happy in this picture.”

“Whata do you want?” 

“Hmm? Can’t I come and see how you are doing?”

“Not when you’re a threat to the village.”

“A threat...? I guess I am. Though I suspect that Orochimaru is more of a threat at this moment, is he not?”

“Are you working for him?”

“I’m working for another,” Ookami replied, his head turning to look around the room at the faded paint on the walls and dust covered everything. “For a mind reader, you’re easy to sneak up on. I’ve been following you for a few days now.”

Miyako froze in shock. She’d been followed for a few days? How had she not noticed? That was when Miyako realized she couldn’t get a single thought out of the males’ head. It was like his mind was either shielded... or empty.

“You know who I am. You know my skills. That suggest to me that you have contact with someone who figured them out. They only one I can think of who would share my skills with the world is Uchiha Itachi. So tell me, are you working for him?”

The male snorted. “Work for Itachi? No. He works alone. Accepting missions that turn him into a criminal. Make the love of his life hate him? I work for another, much _deadlier_ person. Though if you ever met him, you wouldn’t he was all that scary.”

Miyako frowned, putting that information away as she focused on something that – at this moment – seemed more important. “What do you mean by Itachi accepting missions that turn him into to a criminal?”

The male before her chuckled darkly. “How much do you _really_ know about the Uchiha Massacre? Do you honestly think Itachi would’ve been able to wipe out his whole clan, all by himself? Surely you would’ve caught a glimpse into his mind before you ran off from him.”

Miyako let out a breath, knowing what the male in front of her was implying. She remembered it clearly, the though rushing through Itachi’s head. _‘I’m doing this for Konoha. I’m doing this for Sasuke.’_ She had always wondered what that thought had meant, but never thought to pursue it. If Ookami was telling the truth, there was more to the massacre than a Uchiha going rogue, and perhaps, even an accomplice.

“I see I’ve piqued you interest. Maybe you should ask the Hokage what he knows about that night one of these days. After all, he can’t lie to you. No one can,” Ookami stated and then vanished in cloud of smoke.

**...**

Miyako stood on the roof of the arena where the last of the Chūnin Exams was being held. She was posted here along with sixteen other (which included both Takeo and Tsuneo). They were the security, along with some hidden ANBU for the event. Miyako was located right on top of the kage seats. Takeo was fifty metres to the right, and Tsuneo was fifty metres to her left. Every fifty metres was another Jōnin.

Down in the arena itself, the participating genins stood, with only two missing. Miyako frowned as she looked for both Sasuke and Naruto, but grinned when she watched Naruto run in, being chased by a herd of bulls.

After Naruto’s arrival, the proctor of the exam went over the rules. From her place on the roof, Miyako couldn’t properly hear what was being said, but she got bit and pieces that were brough up from the speakers in the arena below her.

Miyako watched as everyone but Naruto and a genin she knew to be Hyūga Neji left the arena to the waiting room where they can also watch and analysed the matches below them.

Soon the match between Neji and Naruto being, and Miyako watches as Naruto puts up one hell of a fight. She – like many in the crowd – doubted that Naruto would be able to put up much of a fight to the Hyūga protégé – let alone win the fight – so when he does win she stared in surprise.

_Looks like Sakura’s not the only one whose been training hard this last month,_ Miyako thought with a smile as she watched the blond-haired ninja run around with cheers of the crowd surrounding him.

If course, the high brough on from the fight was quickly diminished as restless anticipation filled the air for the next fight – which was supposed to be between Uchiha Sasuke and Gaara of the Sand.

However, Sasuke appears to be a now show – either that or running late – and that match was postponed and the next match was to take place. But that too ended quickly as before the match even begun, one of the contestants forfeited.

Finally the third match brought entertainment through the brain of Nara Shikamaru and the boisterous attitude of Gaara’s older sister Temari. The match itself was long and drawn out, as the Nara used his strategies to slowly bring Temari into the position he needed her in. Just as everything fell into place, three words rang out through the area.

“I give up.”

An our roar ran through the crowd at those three, little words as Temari was announced the winner of the third match. No one understood what just happened, but Miyako chuckled as she realised that _that_ was something to be expected from a Nara.

But now it was time for Sasuke’s and Gaara’s match, and there was still no sign of the Uchiha.

Miyako frowned, cursing Kakashi out. _Of all days to be late._

Just as the proctor was about to announce Sasuke’s loss, the Uchiha and Kakashi arrived in a swirl of leaves. Miyako grinned at the pose, and she wondered if that was what took most of their time. They spoke to proctor for a few minutes, before the proctor waved Gaara down from the stands.

A few minutes later, Gaara stood in front of Sasuke in the middle of the arena. The proctor began the match and everything went into a flurry of sand and quick movement. Sasuke attacked, Gaara defended. Gaara attacked, Sasuke dodged. Sasuke had obviously gotten faster as he managed to land a hit on Gaara. From that point on, Sasuke landed more and more hits on the red-haired shinobi, until Gaara was forced to hide himself away in a ball of sand.

Sasuke attacked the ball, only for it to do nothing, leaving Sasuke bleeding. Then, Sasuke weaved a few hand-signs, Miyako’s eyes widening as she watched as a ball of lightning chakra surrounded his hand, making loud chirping sounds.

_He taught him the Chidori?_ Miyako gasped in surprise as Sasuke charged towards Gaara, breaking through the sand ball, hitting Gaara in the centre. Everything stood still, no one moved, and everyone held their breath, watching, waiting for the next move.

“My blood!” Gaara shouted as an arm of some sort shot out through the hole, aiming for Sasuke. Sasuke barely dodged the attack before the sand ball crumbled, leaving a panting and injured Gaara in the middle of the arena.

A kunai shot passed Miyako., forcing her to turn and face the sand shinobi who was behind her. She quickly noticed that the other Jōnin guards were engaged in battle and pulled out her ninjato. She charged towards her opponent, slicing him down in one swipe before jumping upwards to dodge a wind jutsu headed her way.

Miyako faced her new opponent and knew, right then and right there, that Sunagakure and Otogakure were working together to attack Konohagakure. She attacked the new opponent, but the opponent dodged, laying a cut on Miyako’s face with her kunai. Miyako and the opponent then got into a heated Taijutsu battle, going back and forth with punches, jabs, kicks, and chops. Occasionally pulling out kunai and shuriken and at one point, clashing ninjato against ninjato.

Soon, Miyako’s opponent was dead and she shot off into the stand where civilians and shinobi who couldn’t sense Genjutsu slept. She faced off with more enemy shinobi, noting for the first time the hole in the wall of the arena and figures of Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru rushing through, following a little pug.

“Miyako! The Hokage!” Takeo shouted as he dodged a water bullet from a sand shinobi.

Miyako pulled her ninjato out of the abdomen o f her opponent and looked up to see the Hokage trapped in a purple square, with who she guessed was Orochimaru. She didn’t have time to worry about the Hokage – however – as three large snakes were summoned in the distance. “I’m going to deal with the snakes!”

“Ok, I’ll stay here and protect the civilians,” Takeo nodded and Miyako jumped into the air, summoning a large falcon the size of the three snakes attacking the village.

“What’s going on, Miyako-sama?” the male falcon questioned as he shot towards the snakes.

“Konoha’s under attack from Suna and Oto. We need to deal with those snakes, and quickly,” Miyako stated and the falcon nodded, charging for the snakes. “Aim for the eyes. Try to blind them to make it easier for us to defend from them.”

“Yes, Miyako-sama,” the falcon replied and shot towards the snakes, talon at the ready. The falcons talons sliced through the eyes of the first snake, blinding it before shooting off to the next snake, doing the same thing. The third snake, however, was expecting the attack and lunged towards the bird.

Miyako jumped off, landing on the snakes head and shot towards the eye, digging her ninjato in it and pulling one eye ball out before jumping off the snake and landing on top of her falcon. The falcon shot back into the sky as Miyako pulled the eyeball off the end of her ninjato, throwing it on the ground.

The snake – now thrashing around in pain – was being overwhelmed by the chūnins and genins below it. Miyako jumped down onto the snake, using her chakra to get to the other eyeball and removing that one as well, leaving the snake bloody and completely blind. Miyako then jumped off the snake, landing on the roof of a destroy building where the genin and chunin fighting the snake were standing.

“Use your strongest attacks to kill that thing! We need it gone ASAP!” Miyako ordered as the group stared at the purple haired girl in awe as she removed the eyeball from her ninjato, throwing it onto the ground. “Well then? Let’s attack!” Miyako snapped as she formed hand signs and sent a wind blade towards the thrashing snakes’ neck.

The other shinobi followed her movement quickly, and soon the snakes head was severed from its body. “Quickly, we need to deal with the other two!” Miyako ordered and group shot of to the closest snake. They joined another group there and used the same tactic, slicing the head from the snake before moving onto the final snake, only to find that it was dealt with by Jiraiya.

As he finished off the snake, the Oto and Suna shinobi retreated and the barrier stopping the Hokage from escaping fell.


End file.
